Read it and Realise
by nosilverbullets
Summary: Steph is a young writer who moves to La push. what happens when she finds that her characters are real? Or falls in love? Will she interfere with the plot? or will she let nature take it's course? Read and review. xx paul/OC.CANON also a little Embry/OC
1. she knew him

**A.N. I don't own anything people, it all belongs to Stephanie Meyer except the storyline. **

**Steph's POV**

Stephanie woke up and stretched her tightly wound body, she really had to stop staying up so late. Still half asleep, she made her way downstairs and into the kitchen; plopping herself down on her favorite black aluminium stool. Steph began bouncing with a cheesy grin on her face, waiting for her mom to say something.

"Well? Is it here yet?" She asked her mom, trying to look around at what she was holding behind her back; she kept moving so Steph couldn't see. She can be so _childish_ sometimes.

"Is what here?" Her mom countered; Steph's eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"You _know_ what." Steph grunted, still trying to catch a peek of the item.

"No I don't. Many things came from the post. But only one thing from the guy in the _FedEx_ truck…" Her mom spoke slowly, accentuating the word 'FedEx'.

"Mom, come on. Give it to me." Steph pleaded, her voice strained as she stretched over the counter, trying her hardest to reach her mother.

"I don't understand what you want Steph." Her mother was torturing her for no good reason; Steph found herself growling at her own mother. Steph's mouth snapped shut in shock, wondering where that had come from; she had never growled at anyone before. Mom's eye brows furrowed while her eyes widened as if she knew something that her daughter didn't, she recovered with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, before Steph could ask any questions.

"Looks like somebody has read her own books way too many times." Mom laughed sourly as she handed Steph the cube shaped package. She ripped at the cupboard hungrily, tearing it to shreds to reveal the frits of her labor. Steph screamed with excitement as she flipped through the pages, they smelled like brand spanking new paper. The cover was just as she had dreamt; a white chess piece on a fading out board in the foreground and a smaller red one in the back. At the top, the title in a normal fond, no capital letters just like she had asked. At the bottom, her full name, all capitals; also by her request.

"It's nice." Steph jumped as she heard her mom's voice behind her. Before she could even think, her hands had moved the book as far away from her mother as possible. She stepped back and sighed.

"So, I guess we can't read this one either." Mom said; she already knew the answer; Steph never let anybody read them. She shook her head sheepishly as she backed away from the kitchen; effectively tripping on some unpacked boxes on the way.

"Stephanie?" Mom called after her; she stopped moving and turned back to face her. She's beautiful; Steph's mom. Her hair, so black that it was almost blue and her skin tanned skin, radiant. Anyone with eyes could see why Steph's father had fallen in love with her all those years ago. They always told their daughter that it was 'love at first sight'. Some people are just that lucky.

"Yeah mom?" Steph asked her.

"How many is that now?" She asked as she nodded to the book that was clenched tightly in Steph's hand before taking a short, cautious sip of her steaming hot coffee. "The fourth and the last." Steph replied proudly before turning and marching back off the stairs to her bedroom. She hummed an unrecognizable tune as she stuffed the new book in its designated place on her newly built shelf and sighed. Two years worth of staying up late and waking up early to write had finally paid off; just in time for her to start a new school in a new place.

She laughed as she flopped onto her bed; looking over at the macaroni photo frame that her best friend Courtney had given her before she left San Francisco for the place of her dreams… _La Push_. It was actually the place where all her books are centered around.

Steph has been a fully registered member of the Quilieute tribe, both of her parents grew up there before moving away together once they were married; they were back because her dad was offered a job in Forks. She had always been apprehensive about coming here though, she had heard things about reservations; things that she now knew were untrue. Steph was afraid that she'd stick out like a sore thumb more than anything, after all she was only three quarters Quilieute; her father is half African American making her skin considerably darker than her soon to be peers.

Steph finished her shower then began to look through her unpacked suitcases and wardrobe for something decent to wear for her first day of school. After around half an hour, she ended up with a grey hoody and skinny jeans; Steph then brushed her thick black waist length hair down and pulled it over both her shoulders before walking downstairs, although, what she found down there was something that no teenager should ever see her parents doing; engaging in a heated make out session… _again_

"Ok guys, enough with the PDA." Steph groaned as she sat down on her stool in front of them; they separated like it was the hardest thing ever.

"Morning Steph." Her dad said as he leaned over the work top to kiss her forehead.

"Morning daddy." She answered sweetly; to say that Steph was a daddy's girl would be a serious understatement, she had always admired him to no end; to her, he was the epitome of what I had should… no had to be. Jamal Meyer was the tallest guy that she had ever seen, towering over her at an impressive six foot five with muscles that steroids couldn't give you.

All of Steph's friends in San Francisco had a crush on him, especially Courtney. She turned in a stuttering, bumbling fool whenever he was around. Steph just laughed and tried to calm down her hyperventilation after he had left; not that she could blame her best friend, her dad did look young for his age, come to think about it, so did her mom; they both appeared to be in their early twenties when in reality, they were supposedly around thirty-five

"Dad, are you gonna drive me to school?" Steph groaned at her father who had somehow re-attached himself to her mother's lips. They separated again.

"Yep, later baby." Jamal called as he slapped her mom's butt which made her squeal like a teenager; Steph mentally face palmed.

The drive to the school was short of course, La Push was a small place. Steph waved goodbye to her dad as she got out of our car. Whispers and sniggers erupted from all around the car lot, as said before, La Push was a small place, new people were obvious, Steph huffed as she pulled her hood up and sped towards the small building, leaving her head down

Weaving her way through the corridors was hard to say the least; she had no idea where she was heading but was way too shy to ask anybody for their help. _Finally_. She thought as she reached a door labeled 'administration office'.

"Hi." Steph said casually, causing the secretary to jump in her seat; surely Steph hadn't been that quiet as she entered the office.

"Hello dear, you must be Stephanie." The woman said as she searched through files, not bothering to hear Steph's answer; she handed her a schedule and shooed her out. Again, Steph was stuck in the crowded corridors all alone, searching for her designated locker then homeroom; once she found it she walked in, most of the other students were there already.

Steph avoided their eyes as she marched straight up to the teacher's desk. She was a people person, just not when she didn't know anyone.

He was quite old, maybe around forty years old. His hair was long and pretty just like her mother's. He turned to Steph and the whole class went quiet; she could feel their eyes on her but she wouldn't turn.

"Class, we have a new student. Don't be shy dear, we always welcome new comers. Why don't you introduce yourself and tell us about yourself?" He asked as he gave her a friendly nod; she physically relaxed. Steph turned to her new classmates and for the first time since she reached La Push; she didn't feel like an outsider. Most of them were smiling pleasantly at her; she didn't really look _at_ them, her eyes literally skinned over them vaguely.

"Hi, my name is Stephanie Meyer, I just moved here from San Francisco a few months ago, in my spare time, I like to write stories." She answered loudly; most of the class nodded.

"What kind of stories do you write?" A voice asked; Steph searched around the room for the asker; she felt like she knew his voice from something but she couldn't place it.

"Mostly supernatural….. _Jacob_?" Steph screeched as my eyes landed on the owner of the unknown voice. He looked around the room like he didn't know her; he didn't and he was sure of it. Steph knew him though, she knew him very well but how could she? How could he be here in front of here? He wasn't supposed to exist, to be real; he was just a fragment of her overactive imagination, a boy from her first book. A character from _Twilight. _

**Thoughts?**

**So I decided to re do it in third person.  
I have a pic of Stephanie on my profile. **

**What do you think?**

**Reviews please. **


	2. that's great!

**Steph's POV**

"Uum, yeah?" Jacob answered like a question than an answer; Steph found herself clutching lightly to the desk behind her like her life depended on it. This couldn't be happening to her, it couldn't be him; it was impossible. Steph's heart began to pound so hard that she could hear it loud and clear. He was just as she'd created him, but this was obviously Jacob before his big fursplosion but not be a long while.

She noted his forming muscles around his biceps and he still had that awful looking hair which, by the way, didn't suit him at all. Steph came to the conclusion that he was somewhere around the beginning of New Moon. Was she actually considering this? Yes, she was. She was considering that she had written the story of his life. Steph peeled her eyes away from the muscled youth before she was christened the 'weird girl'.

Her heart beat was wild as she shook my head and sat in the only seat in the class that was available which of course had to be next to the seat in front of Jacob. Everyone in class was still staring at her until the bell rang; they all got up to leave and Steph followed promptly; although, she wasn't exactly sure where she was going.

Steph pulled her schedule out of her bag and searched for the next class; trying to block out all of the ludicrous thoughts_. This isn't real, this isn't real_. She chanted in her head; she refused to believe it. It was strange that she had always been someone who was open to the possibilities, someone who never said never… but now, she was really questioning her sanity.

"Hey! Stephanie! Hey!" Steph tried to ignore the calls as she sped through the hallways, away from the booming voice_. _She picked up the pace but she knew that she would never get away, this was his school; she couldn't tell one locker from the next. She stopped, feeling lost, the hall was empty now but she still wouldn't dare to look behind her.

_Shit!_ She thought as someone tapped lightly on her shoulder; she turned to see not only Jacob but Quil and Embry too and stumbled back clumsily in shock. It was just getting worse. Embry was looking at her like he had other things on his mind and Quil was flashing her what he _thought_ was a sexy smile; they were just how she thought they would be.

"Hey Jake, Quil, Embry." Steph said, taking a shot in the dark. They all moved their heads back in shock.

"Uum… hi?" They answered together. Ok, now she knew that she wasn't crazy, it really was them.

"I'm sorry but do we know you?" Embry asked, suddenly interested in this conversation.

"Yes… no… I don't know." Steph gave up; not knowing what to say.

"Okay?" Quil muttered earning a smooth chuckle from Embry. I decided to test my theory.

"Let me just get this straight. You're Jacob Black, right? Son of Billy Black… who is in a wheelchair. Twin sisters Rachel and Rebecca, in love with Bella Swan?" Steph asked him seriously, trying not to divulge any information about the wolf pack that he knew nothing of… _yet_. He just stood there looking shocked.

"Answer the question Jake, god damn it!" Steph pulled her hands up and began shaking his shoulders; he began to nod his head.

"Good." Steph moved him out of the way, which wasn't hard for some reason; her eyes settled on Embry's; they were sparkly and she felt a prickle in her soul as she looked at him.

"Embry Call, lives with his mom. Shy individual, mom moved here from the Makah Rez while she was pregnant?" Steph asked him frantically, he nodded too. Her heart beat sped up by about fifty percent. She nodded again and stood in front of Quil.

"Quil Ateara the fourth, total flirt. Son of Quil junior, deceased. Loves Old Quil who is his grandfather. Thinks himself a ladies man?" Steph asked him; he nodded like a dodo just like she knew he would. She smiled to herself, glad to know that she knew her characters very well.

"That's great." She exploded, then it all went black… .

**Thoughts?**

**They probably think she's psycho. Lol. **

**I'll try and make the next chapter longer than this one. **

**Please check out my other stories.**

**What do you think?**

**Reviews please. **


	3. fair warning

**Steph's POV**

Steph mumbled incoherently as she tossed and turned in what felt like a semi-comfortable foam bed. What had happened to her? Where was she?

"Good morning miss Meyer." An unfamiliar voice sang to her. Steph opened her eyes slowly; glad to see that the light directly above her head was dim.

"Where am I?" She mumbled quietly as she shuffled in the bed; her body felt slightly heavy.

"The school infirmary." The woman replied.

"I don't know what any of those words mean." Steph told her seriously; the nurse's laughter filled the room.

"I mean you're in the nurse's office." She replied; why hadn't she said that in the first place?

"What happened?" Steph asked her, not really remembering anything.

"Well, I don't know the full story but three students brought you in here. They said you just fainted on them while you were talking… you hit your head." She replied softly. That's when the events of her first day of school came flooding back. She had met them, three of them. The boys from her dreams. Steph sat up in her seat slowly, awaiting the dizziness that never came. She looked up at the cock facing her on the opposite wall.

_Two-thirty._ She had missed her whole first day of school. _Great_. Steph groaned as she started to get up, only to be stopped by the nurse.

"No, no, young lady. You can't go anywhere. Your mother is on her way to pick you up." She told Steph as she ushered her back into her previous position.

"This is just great." Steph muttered causing the nurse to chuckle.

….

"Are you sure, you're okay Steph?" Mom asked as she grabbed her handbag and keys; she was on her way to the grocery store. Steph wondered why she didn't do that while she was at school.

"Mom. For the millionth time, I'm fine." She reassured her, truth be told Steph _was_ feeling fine which surprised even herself. She shuffled on the couch and placed my hot chocolate on the coffee table.

"Okay well, your father will be home soon. See you later Steph." She answered as she left; something was up and Steph could tell. Why such a lengthy goodbye? After all, she was only going to the store. As soon as her mother left, Steph made her way up to her bedroom and sat cross legged on her bed, staring at the books on her shelf with narrowed eyes as if she was waiting for them to stare back. She struggled to believe that it was all real. The werewolves, the vampires, was I possible that they all existed? She scolded herself for sounding like Bella. _Bella._

Steph jumped up from her bed in shock and began to pace frantically. Where would Bella be now? Was she still wallowing in her own self-pit or was she just recovering?

Truth be told, she was never very fond of Bella; the way she treated Jacob grated at Steph to no end but you know what they say, a book writes itself.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the loud hum of a motorcycle approaching her house; somehow Steph knew, just from hearing it, that it was around fifty meters away. Since when had she been able to calculate distance, using only her ears? She listened intently as the heavy footsteps of Jamal entered the house and automatically steered towards the kitchen where he made what she expected was a cheese and onion sandwich. Steph wondered where her father had gone; since they arrived in La Push, he had been leaving and returning at odd hours and it was becoming noticeable.

"Are you gonna come downstairs or are you just gonna stand there and listen to me eat all night?" Dad shouted; his voice bouncing off the walls. How would he know what she was doing? Steph trudged down the stairs and into the kitchen gingerly.

"How was your first day of school?"

"It was cool." Steph answered as she grabbed a bite of one of his unsuspecting cheese sandwiches. He scowled playfully at her.

"Did you make any friends?" He asked hopefully as he pulled a plate from the table behind him and placed it in front of her. There were four sandwiches on this plate.

"Dad, you made me four? I can't eat all of these." Steph tried, avoiding the mouth-watering food.

"Trust me, you'll eat them." He mumbled as he took another bite of his; Seth wandered what he meant by that but ignored him anyway.

"So, did you make any friends or not?" Dad asked with his mouth full; she laughed at his goofiness.

"Actually, no. I totally forgot." She told him, in a way it was partly true. You can't exactly make friend while you're passed out in the infirmary; his brows furrowed.

"What do you mean 'forgot'?" Jamal asked her; he looked unhappy. Steph shrugged him off, trying to make it seem like it didn't bother her; she knew that no parent wanted to hear that their child was a 'no-friends loser' as she so finely put it.

"Nothing particular. Its just that I had other things on my mind is all." I told him, keeping my voice as calm as possible. I didn't want to tell dad about the fainting incident, he would probably march down to school and demand to know why there wasn't someone there to catch me when I fell. Mom would probably tell him later anyway.

"You wanna talk about it?" He asked as he drank some of his cherry kool aid. She did, she really wanted to talk about it, nut how? 'Hey dad, you know those stories I've been writing? Yeah, they're not stories… they're real… yyyaaaayyy!' Somehow, Steph didn't see that going too well. 

".. No." She muttered. The reality of the situation had just hit her; she couldn't tell anyone, not even her dad. It had to be her secret, now until forever. Telling someone could potentially ruin everything… or fix it.

"Oh… well ok. Oh by the way, we're going out tomorrow night..." Dad said as he walked to the kitchen with his empty plate in hand. That was when Steph glanced down at her plate... empty as well. The strange thing was that she vaguely remembered eating it, and her stomach was nowhere near full.

"Where we going?" She asked as she joined him in the kitchen and sat down; trying to take her mind off of her bizarre eating habits.

"To a bonfire." He answered nonchalantly. She fell off my stool in shock but Jamal caught her before she hit the floor; how did he catch her so fast?

"Jesus Christ Steph. What are you doing?" He asked frantically as he stood her up again; I felt dizzy. She was still shocked; she was going to a bonfire! That would mean that the tribal councillors would be there. Billy, Quil, Harry; Steph wasn't sure that she was ready for that.

"Sorry dad… What time are we leaving?" She asked nonchalantly like she hadn't just nearly broken her head on the wooden floor.

"About five, when I get home from patr… work." He told her as he flopped on the couch and turned on their wide screen television.

Steph stared at the expensive piece of machinery in wonder, sometimes she wondered why they really moved back, after all her father had a great job before in San Francisco; he got paid a lot more than he does now and significantly more than they actually needed. Why would he give it all up? Her mind was cast back to a time when she had confronted him about it, he simply told her that 'it's not good to stay away from home for too long'; she found his phrasing strange.

Steph turned and walked upstairs back to her room; not feeling like watching TV at all. These days it didn't matter whether it was the middle of the day or the middle of the night, she would just sleep; feeling completely exhausted for one reason or the other. Stephanie quickly changed into her pyjamas and slid into bed; shuffling into her favourite position. She exhaled loudly and tried to relax, but she knew that if sleep did come, it wouldn't be her friend tonight.

Steph was uneasy, for she knew that whatever happened tomorrow would shape the future, for better or for worse. On that thought, she drifted off and just like always. On that thought, she drifted off and just like always, her dreams were plagued with the continuous lives of her characters.

"_Jake! Stop!" Renesmee screamed through her laughter as she tried to get away from him. _

"_Not until you admit it." Jake replied as he tickled her faster. Renesmee clawed at the soft pink carpet on her bedroom floor but it was useless; his hold was too strong._

"_Ok! Jake, you're the best 'best friend' ever!" Her breathing was ragged as he stopped tickling her. _

"_That's right!" Jake said, a smug grin on his face. Renesmee jumped onto her bed then threw on of her many pillows at his head_

"_Ow." Jake said dryly, causing her to giggle. They laughed together for a while until her bedroom door crept open slowly and she bounded under her thin duvet and pretended to sleep. Edward walked in and leaned in the doorway. _

"_I know you're awake Renesmee. It's time for bed so say goodbye to Jacob." Edward told her, she nodded her head and kissed Jacob on the cheek before lying back down tossing the sheet off of her so that he could tuck her in. Jacob chuckled and shook his head as we pulled the sheet up and tucked it under her chin. _

"_I love you Jakey." She whispered, sleep was taking over. _

"_Sure, sure." Jake replied as he left behind Edward. _

**Thoughts?**

**What do you think is up with Steph's dad?**

**What do you think will happen at the bonfire?**

**What do you think?  
Reviews please.**


	4. make some friends

**Steph's POV**

"So, what are you doing today?" Steph asked her dad from the passenger's seat.

"You know, taking care of business." He answered nonchalantly but she could hear the secretiveness in his voice.

"What business?" Steph replied, trying to get some information out of him.

"My business." He told her with a smirk; she laughed and shook her head. Heads turned to their car as they pulled into the school parking lot… _female_ heads… eyes trained on her dad.

"Try and make some friends today, ok kid?" Dad teased as Steph got out of the car.

"Ha-ha dad." She answered dryly as she slammed the door for effect. She could hear his peeling laughter on the other side of the glass. _Jackass_. Steph huffed and walked towards school for the second day; hopefully a full day of school _without_ any interruptions.

Just like yesterday, she moved towards the main building with her head down, watching the passing gravel crunch loudly under her feet. She stopped when three pairs of pink high heeled shoes appeared in my vision; Stephanie looked up to see three girls standing in front of her. They dressed like triplets but it was obvious that they were not related; all three were wearing the exact same clothes.

The middle one had a skirt so short that it _should_ be illegal. She was pretty, there was no doubt about that, with her tanned skin and long flowing dark brown hair with a clipped ball fringe in front. Her face was caked with foundation to a sickly level and her lips were glossed to absolute perfection. She looked me up and down then the fakest sickly sweet smile that Steph had ever seen landed on her face. Steph didn't need this right now at all.

"Hey, I'm Trish. This is Tami and Tanya." The middle one told her; gesturing the girls either side of her. _Are you kidding me?_ _Matching names? That. Is. Sad. _Steph thought.

The other two girls gave Steph a short grunt before turning to their leader like they were waiting for her to throw them a bone; Steph half expected a large tongue o fall out of their mouths.

"Steph." She replied shortly. Why were they talking to her? Steph could already see that they had nothing in common.

"So, you're new here right?" Trish asked, her eyes free from emotion. Steph knew that wasn't the question she really wanted to ask.

"Yes, my family just moved here from San Francisco a few months ago. Yeah, I was really sad to leave but you know… its okay here I guess. The people are nice, the food is nice. It's nice…" Steph trailed off, running out of adjectives pretty quickly. Trish just stood there with her mouth ajar.

"So who was that who dropped you off? Was it your brother?" Trish asked Steph. She chuckled because Trish actually had the audacity to stop her, just to ask about her dad and not even hide her motive.

"_That_ was my dad." She said dryly. Trish and her two 'yes women', started to laugh, although, Steph couldn't understand why; she wasn't being sarcastic.

"No, seriously." Trish answered, seizing laughter almost robotically.

"Seriously, he's my dad." She crossed her arms over her chest and the other two did the same.

"He can't be your dad. He's like eighteen." Steph furrowed her eye brows. Steph knew her dad appeared younger than usual but eighteen was being a tad optimistic.

"I assure you… he can… and he isn't eighteen. Try like thirty five… and married." Steph clarified when she got a weird gleam in her eye.

"Listen okay. I don't know why you feel the need to lie like that so I'm just gonna forget about this little encounter. Just give me his number and you can be on your merry way." Trish demanded, Steph wandered if this bitch was for real. All of a sudden, her breathing sped up and her body began to shake; she was just that angry.

"If I were you, I would get out of my face. Right. Now." Stephanie muttered evilly, even _she_ didn't recognize my own voice. The Barbies were gone so fast that there were skid marks on the floor in front of her. She felt better but the shakes were getting worse. What was happening to her? Steph was instantly calmed when a hand placed itself on her back. She felt safe. She turned around and her eyes widened; there stood the three people that she never expected to see.

"Hey guys." Steph said sheepishly, her eyes suddenly finding her converses very interesting.

"Hey… Stephanie. We just wanted to check if you were okay." Embry told her as his hand fell limply to his side.

"Uum yeah. I'm fine, sorry for passing out on you guys." Steph said awkwardly while she scratched the back of my head nervously. Quil let out a small burst of laughter; he was probably remembering her passing out yesterday.

"It's cool. We didn't mind." Embry replied, and then furrowed his eye brows like he wasn't supposed to say that.

"So do you wanna sit with us at lunch today? That is if you weren't planning on sitting with T cubed." Jake spoke up while nodding to the skanky girls who were now on the other side of the car lot; wimps.

Steph's body started the light shakes again as she thought about the way Trish had spoken to her but soon calmed down as Embry placed his hand on her again. "Thanks." Stephanie muttered, he dropped his arm like a weight to his side. Jake and Quil shared a knowing look.

"So, Steph, do you wanna sit with us at lunch?" Quil spoke up. Steph nodded and made her way to first lesson with the guys. _English._

…

The assignment for the lesson was to right a poem on how you are feeling or your favorite things and later present to the class. Steph bit the end of her pen lid as she looked up from her English book and stared around the class room. Everyone was scribbling away at their pieces of paper like there was no tomorrow yet _Steph's _page was empty. Even Quil had at least a few lines down.

That was when it hit her, the perfect topic for her poem. She began to scribble away at her page until the timer went off causing everyone to jump.

"Ok class, who wants to be first to present?" Mr. Morton asked as he looked around the class expectantly; no one made a sound.

"Don't all volunteer at once." He muttered causing some girls to giggle.

"Ateara?" He asked tiredly while looking at Quil. Quil immediately started shaking his head wildly.

"No sir. It's okay." He tried.

"Yes. Quil. Come on, we haven't got all day." Quil huffed and trudged to the front of the class with his raggedy paper that was missing a corner. _Yeesh. _

"My poem's about my favorite thing…. And it isn't good so don't expect anything." Quil clarified before bringing his face up to his face and clearing his throat.

"Cod is what I call you,

But you have many names,

But one thing stays constant,

You are the world's best game.

When I first unwrapped you,

My god was I glad,

You are the best birthday present,

That I've ever had,

If I could marry you, I would,

You really are a beauty,

Oh my lady love,

My baby… Call of duty."

Quil ran straight to his seat while the rest of the class sat there with our mouths open. Mr. Morgan removed his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose.

"Five years of English and that's the best you can do?" He asked Quil who just slumped in his chair_. _Quil looked back at Steph so she flashed him a reassuring smile.

She looked to her left to stop herself staring at him only to meet the eyes of Embry

.He blushed and looked away sheepishly. Was he staring at her? For some reason, her heart began to speed up the thought of it. Was she feeling something for Embry?

"Meyer..." Stephanie jumped when she heard her name and her eyes snapped from Embry to the speaker.

"Yes sir?" She answered unsurely.

"You're next to read…. Hopefully something that doesn't make me want to reach for the vodka." Mr. Morton replied seriously as he looked over at Quil. Steph stood up weakly and her legs felt like jello as she made her way to the front of the room which seemed like miles away. She took a deep breath as she looked into all of the expectant eyes before her; Embry was smiling reassuringly and she suddenly felt calm. Steph cleared her throat and began;

"Life is about choices,  
we have free will to make,  
it is left to each one of us,  
the path we choose to take.

The journey of life we travel  
has guideposts along the way,  
to keep us on the straight and narrow,  
that we might not go astray.

The first guide is our faith,  
we all know what that means,  
not wavering in alliance to  
the Creator behind the scenes.

The second motivation  
keeping us on the trail,  
is the hope instilled within our hearts,  
enabling us to prevail.

The final inspiration,  
as we live and learn each day,  
is the love that should encompass,  
everything we do and say.

As a precautionary measure,  
we all have inner voices,  
consciences to guide us,  
in making the right choices."

She took a deep breath and lowered the paper to her classmates who were just staring at her blankly. Well, at least they werent throwing scrunched up paper at her head.

Steph walked back to her seat and waited for someone to speak.

"Thank-you miss Meyer. That is the kind of quality I was looking for. Ok Robinson, you're next…." Steph stopped listening and swallowed loudly; she had never liked speaking in front of people.

"Pssst." She heard a sound and looked to her left again; Embry was leaning over into her seat.

"That was really good Steph." Embry told her as he moved back into his upright position; she nodded, too shocked to say anything.

…..

Third period was math; Steph had never fully understood why she had to learn about it; she found it boring and tedious, half of the curriculum was common sense anyway. The only thing good about it was that she had Quil, Embry and Jake with her; it was the only lesson that they all had together. They had become good friends in a matter of hours.

As Steph walked in, the teacher pointed her to the seat in between two other girls and the class started to snigger; Steph became suspicious. She walked over, noticing that Quil, Embry and Jake were in the row behind her; they were all avoiding eye contact with smirks on their faces; she sat down in her appointed seat. The teacher began to speak but she turned her attention to the timid girl to my left. Steph couldn't see her face because she kept it under her long black hair.

"Hey, I'm Stephanie Meyer." She said, trying to peak through. The girl jumped and her head lifted,

"Hi… im Kim Cattori." She replied and her heart skipped a beat. Steph should have expected this but somehow… she didn't. Because Kim was hardly in her books, she wanted to know more about her. Steph went closer to her and whispered.

"You're really pretty Kim. You should totally wear your hair off your face…" She paused to think about the date.

"Especially on Monday… and bring some extra pencils." She told Kim who looked skeptical but nodded her head anyway. Steph turned around feeling annoyed when she heard the guys giggling like goof balls behind her.

"What?" She whisper- shouted.

"Oh nothing…. But you don't mind insects do you Steph?" Quil asked cryptically causing Jake to spit all over Steph through laughter. She wiped it off dramatically and turned around wandering what the heck he was on about. That was when she turned to the right to the other girl next to her.

She seemed pretty regular and much like Kim; quit and shy. Her hair was piled on the top of her head and… _Oh my god_. Steph almost screamed when she saw some kind of creature, probably a nit or hair lice; walk from under her hair and down the back of her neck into her collar. A new round of laughter began behind Steph… oh god… and she didn't bother turning around. She understood what they meant now.

Kim flashed Steph a sympathetic smile and moved her chair to the left, Stephanie did the same and the other girl didn't seem to notice. She now had this odd urge to scratch her head.

A rolled up paper came tumbling off of Steph's shoulder and landed square in front of her. She opened it and huffed when she saw what it said: 

_You know, they can jump up to one meter?_

Steph huffed again and tore the paper up; throwing it back over her shoulder; a new round of laughter started behind her. Quil leaned forward into her ear and started whispering a stupid song,

"Spider-man, spider-man,

Does whatever a spider can,

Can he swing from a web….

…no he can't…. Coz he's on your head."

Steph let out a short burst of laughter and buried her head into her hands for the rest of the lesson.

…_Lunch_

"It's getting worse." Quil declared as he held his apple out into the air in front of his friends.

"Aren't there rules for this sort of thing?" He asked as he turned the apple around, frowning when he found that the other side was just as bruised as the latter. Jacob shrugged but Embry let out a short burst of laughter then stopped. At the end of religious education, Steph and the guys had played a game of dares. Embry's was to not use the bathroom all day long.

"That apple…" Steph was interrupted by Embry who was already partially laughing and jerking in his chair randomly.

"Please don't say anything funny. I actually really need to go to the bathroom." He said as he blushed and moved in his seat awkwardly; Quil and Jacob stared at him incredulously. Stephanie smirked mischievously and his face went pale.

"That apple…" She said louder; he jerked in his seat again like his body was spasming. Quil was trying to hold in his own laughter and Jake began to film Embry inconspicuously with his cell.

"That apple…" She said again; enjoying this way too much.

"_Please_…. Oh come on…. Jake? Are you _filming_ me... what is _wrong_ with you?" Embry asked incredulously. Steph chuckled a little at that; he looked like he was really bursting so she went easy on him.

"That apple…. Looks like it's been in a fight." She said, knowing it wasn't even remotely funny. Much to everyone's surprise, Embry burst into uncontrollable laughter and scrambled from his chair; running like Usain Bolt all the way out of the cafeteria. Heads turned from the open double doors, to their table and back to their lunches. Quil and Jacob were just regaining their composure from the not-so-funny-joke when Steph turned her attention back to them.

"I know, right. The food here is just… sad… but I guess you've gotta get used to it now Steph." Quil said randomly; totally forgetting about what had just happened and continuing his rant on his appalling fruit. They ate in silence for a few minutes until he spoke again.

"So Steph. Why'd you move to La Push?" Quil asked her as he took a bite of his battered apple then he grimaced lightly. Embry approached their table again; a slight blush on his face and sat down. Jake ginned superiorly and turned to Steph.

"My parents got tired of San Francisco and wanted to come home." She answered, staring down at the unidentifiable mush on her tray; she pushed it away from herself in disgust.

"Oh, so you're parents are Quilieute?" Embry asked; his eyes wide_. _Why was that so hard to believe? Was it not obvious? Her high cheek bones and long black hair were dead giveaways.

"Yeah, my mom is full and my dad is half." She answered surely.

"Cool." He replied. Trying to sound unphased but she could still hear the surprise in his voice.

"So are you gonna tell us how you know us or what?" Jacob joked. Steph should have seen this coming but surprisingly, she didn't. She had to think of something quickly.

"…Yeah, I mean, how can I put this... Your pasts proceed you. You're Jacob Black, your like future chief. Then you got Quil, your granddad is on the council. And Embry, I generally just heard about you." Steph lied .They nodded. She couldn't believe that worked, it was inconsistent and a complete lie.

"So how long have you been in La Push? I haven't seen you around." Embry asked her, he peered right into her eyes; she looked away as she blushed.

"Well, about two months. And I haven't really gotten out much while I've been here. Too busy writing." Steph told them, hoping that they wouldn't pry. Luckily, they didn't.

"So, you wanna hang out after school?" Quil asked her hopefully.

"I would… but I can't. I gotta go to a bonfire with my dad tonight." She answered them. Jacob's eyes widened and a smile broke out on his face.

"How could I not remember? You're second name's Meyer, right? You're dad's Jamal Meyer." Jacob practically screeched as if he'd just solved the winning puzzle.

"Yeah?" Steph asked him; wondering why he was so intrigued. Why was that so exciting? Quil and Embry looked just as confused as Steph.

"He was like a member of the council before he left." Jacob confirmed. _He was?_ Steph wondered why her dad had never told her that; she told him everything. She jumped in her seat at her own thoughts. _He knows. _

"Are you okay Steph?" Someone asked; she was too distracted to recognize the person.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm cool." They all nodded.

…..

"Dad!" Steph screamed through the house as she walked in and leaned against the door frame.

"Steph?" Jamal asked as she moved into the kitchen. He bounded heavily down the stairs and Stephanie turned to see him. She dropped her school bag on the floor in front of her in shock. How could she have been so blind? It all seemed so obvious now that she was looking at him. The bulging muscles, his lack of aging…. Leaving and returning at odd hours_. Wolf. _

**Thoughts?**

**What do you think?**

**I've got pics of Stephanie's mom and dad on my profile XD**

**The poem**** by Steph was actually by 'Carol Gioia'… and of course I wrote the call of duty one, lol, in like 40 seconds may I add. Lol. **

**The spider-man thing actually came from one of my friends. **

**Reviews please. **


	5. bonfire

**A.N. Ok so last chapter I decided to take some weight off of Steph's shoulders but I think I'll pile it all back on now ;)**

**Steph's POV**

"Steph? Why are you staring at me like that?" Dad asked her. Steph snapped out of her astounded stare and smiled warmly at her father. The man, who she had just discovered was a werewolf; she ran to him and engulfed him in a tight hug.

"What's up with you?" Jamal asked her with a wide smile. Steph giggled into his chest and squeezed tighter.

"Ouch Steph, a little tight there." He continued as he tied to pry her arms away from his back. Steph laughed, she knew that she couldn't really hurt him. 

Steph cackled maniacally as she padded up the stairs tiredly and into her bedroom where she re-applied her make-up. She didn't wear much, she never did; just some concealer and lip gloss. She turned from her small mirror and gave her books a sideways glance; the items that she _thought_ were her creations. She couldn't help but wonder why, there were so many whys. Why her? After all, there were many people in this world, why boring old 'doesn't have a life' Stephanie Meyer?

Although, she was grateful to have been 'chosen'; she didn't understand what she was supposed to do, she didn't feel like it was right. Was she supposed to stand idly by while the inevitable events unfolded? And if that was the case, why was this happening? Wouldn't that make Steph kind of redundant? For a second, she thought, maybe she was psychic but it faded quickly; she wouldn't believe it.

She wouldn't let herself believe that she was anything more than human, not because she was afraid but because she didn't want to excite herself only to find out that she was totally 'normal'. That thought alone made her want to cringe. Normal. Stephanie had no idea what was happening but she knew that she would have to find out, sooner or later… preferably sooner. There was one thing that bothered her though, was it all her? Did she actually write these books?

Or was there some higher or stronger force manipulating her brain or something? Steph quickly stuffed the stories into a small duffle bag and slung it over her shoulder, she then proceeded to making her way downstairs towards Jamal who was leaning in the doorway, twisting his car keys in his hand.

"What's with the bag?" He asked as he flashed her his signature smirk; it reminded Steph of how young he was. For a moment, her heart broke, how old was he? She hoped he had been at least sixteen when he phased, giving away his whole life. She didn't think she would have been able to smooch it, if she found out that he had been thirteen, much like Collin and Brady.

"Just some stuff that I might need to use while I'm there." She answered, trying to hide the chagrin that washed through her body like a cold wave of guilt; she walked past him and into the car before he could say anything.

The ride to the bonfire was torturing Steph, at some points she felt like they were moving at one mile an hour, she just wanted to get it over with. Then she'd think through it again and suddenly she wanted to avoid the whole thing; then it felt like she was moving at one hundred miles per hour. If her calculations were right, she would see all of them. Sam, Paul, Jared. Her Paul, she wondered if it was healthy to have a crush on one of her characters. She shuffled uncomfortably in her seat; she seemed to be experiencing a hot flush of some kind.

"Dad, could you turn down the heating?" She growled at him, they to forget about the prickly heat; her father smiled back knowingly, Steph couldn't understand why he did.

"The heating isn't on Steph." Jamal told her seriously then turned back to the road ahead. Steph shuffled again, the anxiety of it all was taking over her body. So much so that she experienced something that she had never before, she felt dirty, like there was something crawling under her skin; trying it's best to get out. Steph scratched her arms roughly, removing at least one layer of skin in one part; luckily for her, they had arrived.

She turned in her seat and pulled out the duffel from the back. Her knees buckled lightly as she left the car; her hands clutched onto Jamal's arm almost painfully, he hissed but didn't say a word. As they approached the fire, she saw them. All of them; and she knew every single one. It was just how she'd expected, the council members and the wolf pack. Her heart beat increased.

"Steph?" Her grip on his arm loosened considerably

"Im fine dad." She answers, her voice contradicting her words.

"You don't sound fine." Jamal mumbled quietly under his breath; Steph heard him. Once they reached the circle, all eyes were on them; Jamal said some kind of greeting in Quilieute that Steph wouldn't even attempt to pronounce; instead she let out a mumbles 'hi'.

Her dad led them to a vacant log next to the pack; it happened to be the one place where Stephanie was hoping not to sit. Her father nodded to Sam who returned the gesture but his nod was somewhat more respectful; Jared and Paul followed Sam's lead. Steph had a feeling that she was missing something; something so obvious that it was undetectable to only her eyes; if that was even possible.

Steph smiled and waved awkwardly at everyone around the fire, most of them smiled. Well, everyone except Old Quil who kept a permanent grimace on his face. Steph swallowed thickly, she knew from her books that Old Quil wasn't fond of outsiders; he believed that if you weren't one hundred percent Quilieute, you weren't 'pure' enough to be part of the tribe. No exceptions. She smiled sweetly at him, determined to win him over one way or another. According to her, he had to like her; everybody likes her. Unfortunately, that was proved untrue; his expression had not changed… at all.

Billy welcomed everyone to the bonfire and began to tell the stories, from the beginning. Even though Steph had heard them before, dream-o-vision, as she had called it, was nothing compared to seeing it live.

"In the beginning, the tribe settled in this harbour and became skilled ship builders and fishermen. But the tribe was small, and the harbour was rich in fish. There were others who coveted our land, and we were too small to hold it. A larger tribe moved against us, and we took to our ships to escape them.

Kaheleha was not the first spirit warrior, but we do not remember the stories that came before his. We do not remember who was the first to discover this power, or how it had been used before this crisis. Kaheleha was the first Great Spirit Chief in our history. In this emergency, Kaheleha used the magic to defend our land. He and all his warriors left the ship — not their bodies, but their spirits.

Their women watched over the bodies and the waves, and the men took their spirits back to our harbour. They could not physically touch the enemy tribe, but they had other ways. The stories tell us that they could blow fierce winds into their enemy's camps; they could make a great screaming in the wind that terrified their foes. The stories also tell us that the animals could see the spirit warriors and understand them; the animals would do their bidding.

Kaheleha took his spirit army and wreaked havoc on the intruders. This invading tribe had packs of big, thick-furred dogs that they used to pull their sleds in the frozen north. The spirit warriors turned the dogs against their masters and then brought a mighty infestation of bats up from the cliff caverns. They used the screaming wind to aid the dogs in confusing the men. The dogs and bats won. The survivors scattered, calling our harbour a cursed place. The dogs ran wild when the spirit warriors released them. The Quilieute returned to their bodies and their wives, victorious.

The other nearby tribes, the Hohs and the Makahs, made treaties with the Quilieutes. They wanted nothing to do with our magic. We lived in peace with them. When an enemy came against us, the spirit warriors would drive them off."

At that moment, Steph became a proud woman, proud that she was Quilieute; proud that her ancestors could do these things. Billy then told the story of the Third Wife, Steph listened intently, it was her favourite story of all; her face turned downwards when it was over.

"Trouble with the cold ones was rare from that time on. Taha Aki's sons guarded the tribe until their sons were old enough to take their places. There were never more than three wolves at a time. It was enough. Occasionally a blood drinker would come through these lands, but they were taken by surprise, not expecting the wolves.

Sometimes a wolf would die, but never were they decimated again like that first time. They'd learned how to fight the cold ones, and they passed the knowledge on, wolf mind to wolf mind, spirit to spirit, father to son. Time passed, and the descendants of Taha Aki no longer became wolves when they reached manhood. Only in a great while, if a cold one was near, would the wolves return. The cold ones always came in ones and twos, and the pack stayed small…"

Stephanie's mind strayed at that point but not because she was bored; it was because something was bothering her. She didn't understand why she was here at this particular bonfire, hearing these particular stories. What was so special about her? She cast her mind back in time in order to find something, anything that would help her to figure it out.

That was it, she knew. A lonely tear escaped her eye, but she had no idea why' she wasn't sad, so why was she crying? Tears of joy perhaps?

"What's wrong Stephanie?" Her dad asked worriedly, there was an edge in his voice; his eyes followed another falling tear.

"I'm hurt dad. That's what's wrong. Why didn't you tell me?" Steph whispered back, from the corner of her eye, she could see Sam eavesdropping conspicuously on their conversation.

"Tell you what?" Jamal asked warily; his voice was careful.

"How could you not trust me with a secret like this dad? I trust you with everything." Steph knew that she was being dramatic; she knew that she would, most likely, burst into uncontrollable laughter at any second. Jamal's eye brows rose.

"I know you're a werewolf. I also know that I'm one too…. Well not yet." Stephanie whispered back; Sam shuffled closer to them.

"How did you find out?" Dad asked her, Billy had stopped talking.

"I found out the minute I put pen to paper."

**Thoughts?  
What do you think? **

**OOO, cryptic. **

**Any idea on where the story should go next.**

**Do you want Steph to imprint?**

**Or who do you want her to be imprinted on?**

**Or should she be a solo wolf?**

**Reviews please. **


	6. orders

**A..N. thanks to the reviews from the last chapter, I decided to keep the secret for a little while. I hope you guys like the new format that it's in. **

"I'm hurt dad. That's what's wrong. Why didn't you tell me?" Steph whispered back; from the corner of her eye, she could see that Sam was eavesdropping very conspicuously on her conversation; he shuffled closer to them as he was worried that she would phase.

"Tell you what?" Steph's dad asked warily, he knew what she was talking about but he wanted to find out just how much she knew before jumping in.

"How could you not trust me with a secret like this dad? I trust you with everything." He was surprised at her words; he had never known her to be this straight forward.

"I know you're a werewolf. I also know that I'm one too…. Well not yet." Steph whispered back; a slight quiver in her voice. Sam shuffled closer to them silently.

"How did you find out?" Steph's dad asked her, the bonfire was silent now. Everyone wanted to hear what she had to say.

"I found out the minute I put pen to paper." She told them cryptically; nobody but her understood what she meant.

She then burst out into hysteric laughter for reasons unknown to even _her_. Sam stood up, not sure what on earth he was meant to do in a situation like this. After all, he had only been the alpha for a short time now.

"Im fine Sam, I'm not about to phase right here and now." She tried to reassure him while seizing laughter completely. Little did she know that she had sparked even more curiosity in his mind instead; Sam sat back down.

"You really are smarter than you look." Her dad told her as he messed up her hair with his fist; used to this sort of behaviour, she grimaced lightly. Steph wanted to tell him that her brain had nothing to do with it, but she knew that for now, it was better to keep her secret just that… _a secret_.

"Can I see you dad? You know, as a wolf." Steph asked her father; he sought approval from Billy who smiled in response, then to Sam who nodded curtly. It would be good for her to see him now; she would be less frightened when it is her turn. Steph stood as her father ran into the forest, she gave each elder a light smile which they each returned; except Old Quil of course.

She then approached Jared and Paul who were watching her, their eyes taking in each and every bit of her body, she smirked.

"Scuse me." She asked them as she did a parting gesture with her hands; they brainlessly slip apart, making room for her to step through the middle. She let out a barked yelp as a sharp pain appeared on her butt. Before she could even think, her hand raised and slapped the back of the culprit's head harder.

"Shit! Ow!" He cried as he shot off the log like it had bitten him; rubbing the back of his head in a desperate attempt to lessen the pain.

"Owned." Jared laughed as he watched his friend jump around.

"Serves you right Paul, that's what you get. Well done Stephanie." The voice made Steph choke up a sob. She didn't expect him to speak; she had been hoping that he wouldn't throughout the night.

She turned to face him, his smile was pleasant, Sue sat draped over him; it was obvious that she was his imprint. He broke the stare and looked back to his wife who was smiling back at him and placed a tender kiss on her small lips. Stephanie smiled weakly before turning on her heel towards where her dad would emerge from. She tilted her head back in a feeble attempt to hold back the tears._ Harry_. It wasn't easy knowing when and how someone would die; Steph knew that now. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve quickly when she heard Sam trying to follow her silently.

Jamal, who had been waiting for her to get close enough, stepped out of the woods gingerly, one slow step at a time as to not frighten his daughter. She smiled when she saw him, he was black, like coal which surprised her.

"Isn't Sam the black one?" She asked before she could stop herself; she was giving herself away… and fast.

Her father's furry head cocked to the side in wander. Why would she ask that? It wasn't as if she'd seen them before.

"How did you know that?" Sam asked as he made himself known, Steph turned to face him, he looked deep into her eyes like he was staring into her soul; assessing whether she would lie or not. He had an odd feeling about her, she knew too much. Steph swallowed loudly while she thought of an excuse, something she could get away with for now.

"I didn't. I thought you would be, you know." She mumbled as she looked away from him, trying to avoid his piercing gaze. Sam shook his head and smirked, Steph gasped, she knew what he was about to do.

"**Tell the truth Stephanie**." The weight of his voice trembled through her body; her face went pale as she dropped to the ground. His words were like cinder blocks, each one falling heavily on her lungs. She screamed as she gasped for air, not knowing what was happening. This wasn't in her books; why was it happening? Was she dying? She wasn't ready for death, not yet.

"What the fuck did you do to her?" She heard her dad scream; he was human again and with her in a second, looking over her writhing body with fear and tears in his eyes. Steph's eyes became unfocused. Paul and Jared ran to them, the others approached too. Nobody knew what to do, their bodies frozen with fear.

"I-I don't know. I just gave the order, she was ly…" Jamal growled before Sam could finish; he dropped to his knees next to them. Steph still couldn't breathe, only now, her head felt like it was being starved; her body was limp.

"Oh god no. Sam, do something… take away the order… order her to breathe... Just do something… that's my child!" Jamal was hysterical now; he wasn't sure what was going on. In all his years, he hadn't seen anything like this before.

"**Stephanie, breathe**." Another tremble through her body, she was still. Her chest moved up and down once, enjoying the motion that she had often taken for granted. Steph leant up and pulled her father into a tight hug; she didn't care if he was naked.

He pulled her tighter too.

"I thought I lost you." He whispered; then he threw a sour glare at Sam who looked away, ashamed. He had only wanted the truth, not her death. It wasn't his fault, he just wasn't cut out for this sort of thing, it wasn't his duty, it was Jacob Black's. Sue finally reached them with a blanket that she quickly placed around Steph's shoulders; her father wrapped her in it and carried her bridal style, back towards the fire. Steph buried her head into his chest and soon passed out from exhaustion.

**Thoughts?**

**Does anyone have any theories about what happened to Steph?  
What do you think?**

**Reviews please. **


	7. baby sitter

**A.N. I know, I know I haven't updated in a while. Sorry about that, I've just been concentrated on my other stories but im back. Yay!**

**When in wolf form, the brackets are their subconscious thoughts. **

Steph growled loudly as she opened her bedroom window; the wolf at the tree line tried to hide.

"GO AWAY PAUL!" She groaned as she slammed it loudly like a child having a tantrum. Paul barked mockingly and planted himself in her back garden; his tail wagging. Steph groaned in annoyance and flopped on her bed face down.

Since the bonfire two weeks ago, Sam had made sure that one of the pack was with her at all times when she left the house and due to a recent development also known as Jared imprinting on Kim, it was usually Paul that would baby sit her .She didn't mind him though, in fact she like him a lot.

Not to mention that Steph with bored; since she wasn't allowed to go to school until she phased, just in case she put the other students in danger or exposed the secret _and_ they took her mother away.

Ok, maybe it was an exaggeration but Jamal thought it was best for her to stay out of Steph's way just in case so she was at a friend's house for the next month. Plus her dad was working during the day. So basically spent most of her days in her god forsaken bedroom; alone or out an about with Paul; she preferred the latter.

Life would actually be fun if it wasn't for the changes in her body were pushing her into abrupt mood swings like some kind of extreme PMS. She was always hot now, too hot and her limbs were always aching which was due to her sudden physical metamorphosis.

She was taller, now at around five foot ten which was something that she had to get used to; the ground seemed so much further away though. She'd also gained some much needed lean muscle on her arms and legs as well as her stomach changing it from just flat to toned. Plus surprisingly, her hair was longer; she didn't know how hip length hair was supposed to help her slay vampires and take orders.

Speaking of orders, the elders had concluded hat her weird 'attack' at the bonfire was due to the fact that she hadn't phased yet, apparently you're not supposed to order unphased wolves around.

Steph snatched her keys from the bedside table and made her way outside; there was no way she could stay caged for long.

As soon as she took a step onto the porch, Paul emerged from the woods as he pulled up his cut-offs with a smug smile.

"Not trying to leave without me were you?" Paul gloated as he tried to hold her hand; she pulled it away in mock disgust and rolled her eyes; he was always making passes at her. It didn't bother her much though because she knew he was joking. At least, she thought he was.

"Where are we going anyway?" He asked as they walked through the street; passer bys stared at them as usual. That didn't bother her much either, she was proud to be pack… but the sneers and whispers did. It had gotten worse since Jared had done her pack tattoo last week; now people's eyes were like glued to her right shoulder.

"_Here_ and then im going to the beach." She told him as they strolled into the convenience store. Paul chuckled then threw an arm over her shoulder and hugged her to his side; he had really gotten to know her over the last two weeks.

"You mean, _we're_ going to the beach." He corrected her as they perused the isles.

Steph ended up picking up a pack of gum and the latest issue of Cosmo magazine which she gave to Paul to occupy his restless hands.

They walked around for a little while more before going to the check-out to pay.  
"Paul, you have to actually give the magazine to the guy. That's generally how you pay for things." Steph told the older boy who was squinting incredulously at a page which he was holding sideways.

"Hey, did you know they have position of the week in here? Chick magazines are awesome." He told her as he took a closer look; there was all sorts of sexual stuff in there.

"Yes, I know now give it here so I can pay for it." Steph said as she snatched it from his grasp and handed it to the cashier who was staring oh so ungracefully down the front of her tank top.

"Hey! Eyes up!" He said in a voice that Steph had never heard before; it was kinda hot. Paul's lip curled upward, emitting a threatening snarl; he wasn't going to let any human guys try and jump her unsuspecting bones.

The cashier looked like he was about to die of freight as he stared at Paul's face; he quickly shook his head and went back to scanning the items while Steph blushed furiously and leaned into Paul.

"Thanks." She muttered, not loud enough for any humans to hear; he nodded curtly.

Steph brought out her cash and paid, pushing Paul out of the store before dying of embarrassment.

…..

Paul lay on his stomach on the sand and kicked his legs as he read more of Cosmo while Steph just sat and let the wind blow through her long hair. The beach at La Push was alluring and her new body temperature meant that the chilling winds didn't pillage the beauty.

"Do you miss it Paul? You know, being human?" She asked him as she looked out into the horizon; he closed the magazine and looked up at her.

"Not really." He answered honestly; she furrowed her eye brows.

"But what about the privacy? That's gotta be ruff right?" She asked him; he looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well yeah but we're brothers so it doesn't bother anyone. It doesn't even matter if you know how to block em'" Steph's eyes widened; this was perfect. If she could find out how to stop them from knowing her secrets, life would be so much easier.

"Well how do you do it?" She asked as she turned her body towards him; Paul sat up too.

"I dunno, it's not that hard. You just kind of create a box and put our secrets inside then just lock it and throw it away. That's what I do anyway." He told her as he shrugged his shoulders; she smiled brightly.  
"That's actually really smart Paul."

"Hey! Don't sound so damn surprised." She laughed nervously; Steph _was _surprised. This was when she realised that she had overlooked the dept of anyone who wasn't a main character.

"So when are you gonna phase?" He asked her, her brows furrowed at his question; she couldn't choose when she phased, could she?  
"What do you mean? I can't just 'phase'. I gotta get angry first, right?" She asked him

"Yeah, so what are you waiting for?" She thought about it; could it be that easy?

"I guess I didn't know it was that easy. Why didn't anyone tell me this before?" She asked with a smile as she stood up; Paul scrambled to his feet with her.

"I wanna do it… now." She said excitedly; for some reason she thought she had to wait for something. Paul stalked towards her and hugged her from behind; her breathing hitched in her throat.

"It's a little soon for me, we haven't even had our first date." He chuckled darkly; she pulled away even though she really didn't want to.

"That was so cheesy." They laughed as they made their way from the beach into the woods near her house.

"Paul, are you sure we should do this?" She asked; she was getting nervous now for some reason.

"Yeah, why not? Are you scared?" He mocked; one of her eye brows lifted.

"No, I just think maybe we should call Sam." She concluded.

"Relax Meyer, Sam's around town chasing Baby Black to see if he'll phase." He told her; she nodded knowingly.

"So what do I do?" Without a word, Paul stood up and pushed her roughly to the floor; breathe hitched in her throat. Light shakes took over her body.

"Get up!" He screamed; she flinched a little but did as he said only to be pushed down again, only this time a bit harder; she stood up again. _Ok, this was seriously getting old._

"Paul, can we do this a different wa…" Before she could finish her sentence, she was on the ground again; the anger shot through her like a jolt of electricity and a drowned scream left her throat as she exploded out of her skin and landed on four legs.

_Cool,_ she thought as she tried to walk around; her paws were chocolate brown and huge! Steph turned around and groaned while shaking her head, trying to expel the image of what she had seen from her head. It was just her luck to turn around just when Paul began to remove his cut-offs, not pretty.

Steph laughed as she started running around, chasing Paul. She laughed internally which expelled itself as a bark while Paul jumped on her and began to lick her face; she tasted like grapes.

_Gross Paul!_ – Steph.

She tried to get away, only to be stopped by his paw on her tail; she turned back to see a wolfy grin. His tongue flopped out of his mouth as he panted. She nipped softly at his ankle and he let her go immediately.

_Bet you can't catch me!_ - Steph thought as she began to run; she ran as fast as she could away from him.

_You'll never get away_- Paul

Steph looked behind her to find nothing. _Huh?_

She stopped and began to turn in circles; he was really gone. She listened for some kind of indication as to where he was… nothing.

_Where the hell are you Paul?_ – Steph. She heard a snap behind her and turned to see Paul about to pounce; trying to catch her off guard. She gasped and turned on her heel towards the house; just when she reached the end of the tree line Paul pounced on her again

_Stop doing that_- Steph grunted as she tried to flip off her back.

_You're just angry coz I caught you…. By the way, nice ass_- Paul

Steph's mind was assaulted with images of the back of her as a wolf as she ran away from him; she blushed furiously.

_Yours is better- _Steph. She laughed as she showed him the naked images of his butt. Paul lifted his head in pride.

_Oh I know_- Paul. They laughed together.

_Ok, so how do I change back_? - Steph.

_Just think of something happy or calming or whatever_- Paul.

He trotted into her house and into her bedroom where he picked up a tee shirt with his teeth; he brought it back out to her and placed it in front of her.

Thank-you – Steph.

She took the tee and trotted behind a large tree where she easily phased back and dressed. It wasn't big enough so she had to hold it down over her body so she walked back into the house and changed into another set of shorts and a tank top.

By the time she got downstairs, Paul was on her couch with the TV already on; when he turned to see her his eyes widened. She was looking even hotter than usual.

"Why are you staring at me?" Steph asked as she went to the kitchen, she was really hungry.

"You look hot." Paul said like it was nothing; he removed himself from the sofa and started to search through the kitchen with her.

Steph smiled to herself but didn't reply; Paul pulled out a giant bag of chips, some cookies, a container filled with twelve chicken legs and a whole chocolate cake and threw it all onto the couch.

"Are you sure we got enough food?" Steph asked as they walked to the couch together.

"Oh, I don't think it's enough but it'll manage." He said as he stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth; Steph laughed at his goofiness and took a small bite out of a chicken leg. When her mouth realised how good it was, she began to eat just like Paul… it was like she couldn't help herself.

….

Steph shifted in her space; her head in Paul's lap and her legs curled up on the couch as they watched 'Fast and Furious 5'; she wondered how he got the DVD, it only just came out in the theatres. She breathed in Paul's scent and smiled wryly, he smelled like wildflowers and musk; so manly.

She yawned as Paul gave her long hair a soft stroke… and another one.

"What are you doing?" She asked without turning around; he didn't strike her as the 'sensitive' type.

"It's so long…" He trailed off; she could feel him picking up the ends of her hair and dropping them as if he expected them to move.

"That's what she said." Stephanie giggled and turned over so she could see him; he didn't smile, instead he just stared down intently. His face lowered and he placed a soft, lingering kiss on her forehead; she smiled to him but turned back around anyway, looking back at the television.

She let one stray tear escape her eye; she so desperately wanted to turn around and press her lips to his… but she couldn't, wouldn't. After all, he wasn't hers to kiss, he was Rachel's. Not yet but he would be. Steph wondered if it was true, what she had written about. Would they really be with that person if they hadn't imprinted on them? 

"Paul?" She called.

"Yeah Steph?"  
"What do you think of Rachel Black?" She spat the name like it was a puce curse.

Paul's eye brows furrowed as he thought about it. It was a weird question,

"I dunno, she's alright I guess. Why?" Steph exhaled; 'alright' huh? That proved it, Paul didn't think she was anything special yet in a few months time he'd be madly in love.

"No reason." She replied. Suddenly the front door opened, none of them bothered to move, she assumed it was one of the pack. When the person didn't make themselves known, Steph put her head up to see her dad.

"Oh hey dad." She yawned; she stood up and moved towards him.

"Hey Jamal." Paul waved from the couch.

"Im here now, you can go home Paul." He replied through gritted teeth; Paul looked scared for a minute before muttering a low 'bye Steph' and leaving. Jamal turned to his daughter.

"Why was your head in his lap Stephanie?" His voice was low and threatening; Steph began to shake slightly.

"I don't know, we were watching TV." She replied, trying to keep down the anger that was slowly rising.

"And that's why your head was in his lap?" he retorted as he put down his brief case.

"I was tired! I phased today." She said like it was obvious; Jamal's eyes widened and he engulfed her in a bear hug, squeezing the life out of her, her anger faded.

"You phased? That's great honey. I knew there was something different about your scent." He gushed as he messed up her hair; Steph growled and desperately tried to put it back into place. He smiled at her with pure admiration.

After sitting through half an hour of listening to her father recite all of the rules that come with being a werewolf, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Yes! Yes, I know. I've heard it all before." She said, trying to make him stop; Jamal chuckled.

"I know you have, but I have to tell you again." He laughed; she groaned again.

"May I please go to bed? I wanna go to bed early, Paul promised he'd train me a little tomorrow." She said; her dad cleared his throat.

"Actually Steph, you're training with the whole pack tomorrow." He told her; her face paled, that meant that her dad would be there.

"But you're not training too right?" She asked him, hoping he'd say no.

"No…." She exhaled loudly.

"Actually Steph, I wanted to talk to you about that, I'm not phasing anymore." He told her straight; she nodded her head slowly.

"That's it? A nod?" She nodded again.

"Oh, well that was easier than I thought." She nodded as she got up again to leave; her eye lids were becoming heavy.

"Steph?" She turned to him and yawned suggestively. _Could she not just go to bed?_

"You and Paul, you seem pretty close…" Jamal trailed off, not really knowing what to say. He had never had to speak to Steph about boys before, as far as he knew, she had never had a boyfriend.

"Yeah?" Steph bated him; she wanted the laugh at the haunted expression on his face.

"Are you two like…." He asked, his inner seventeen year old coming through.

"No dad, we aren't together; Paul and I are just friends."

"The way you two act… it isn't just friendly Steph." Her dad said as he ran a hand down his face; he wasn't good at this type of thing. 

"Dad, relax okay. Like I said before, we're just friends." Steph bounded up the stairs to her bedroom without giving her father a chance to reply; she knew he was right. The way they acted was something more than friendship and she liked it.

Steph reached over from her bed and grabbed New Moon; she wanted to be ahead of things.

She moved the pages forward until she was at the current position. Tomorrow was the day that Embry was phasing 'unexpectedly', Steph groaned. Should she tell somebody about all this?

If so, who would she tell? Steph got into bed, throwing the duvet off it and tried to get to sleep. She decided that she would tell someone tomorrow. Anyone.

**Thoughts?  
I know that there wasn't much action or anything but its just a filler XD**

**Any ideas for the story? **

**I have story pics on my page XD**

You know what to do

**But if you don't, its….. REVIEW!**


	8. another one bites the dust

**IMPRTANT: Ok guys so last chapter I said that Jake was about to phase. It was supposed to say Embry so im sorry about that. I changed it so don't be confused when you read this one! **

"Clear coast." Steph whisper-shouted as she opened her bedroom window; Paul laughed and climbed the tree next to it, scaled the sill and jumped in. Steph was both disappointed and surprised to see that he was actually wearing a shirt today.

"I don't know why you couldn't just use the front door." Steph told him as she closed the window again and leaned against her dressing table; Paul held her close and kissed her cheek before he flopped onto her bed heavily.

"That would have been boring… and by the way, it's 'the coast is clear', not '_clear coast'_." He told her, using a very bad impression of her voice.

"That sounded nothing like me." She laughed as she got her things together.

"Whatever, so what are we doing today?" Paul asked as he watched her back as she snatched her keys off the table; it was weird that she wasn't wearing her usual tank and shorts. Instead she wore some tight blue jeans and a baby blue short sleeved polo. She didn't look any less beautiful though.

"We're going to school, and then Sam wants us down at Emily's." Paul's head snapped up.

"And _why _are we going to school?" Steph turned to face him.

"Because im already behind enough. I need to get some catch-up assignments." She said like it was obvious; Paul looked at her like she had grown two heads.

"You actually _want_ school work?" He asked as they got up to leave.

"Some of us don't wanna fail, you know?" She laughed as she stood lazily, waiting for him to open his truck. Paul came bounding out and opened her door, standing like a gentlemen while she got in before closing it and getting into the driver's side. Steph's smile faded when she thought of all of the other girls he had held doors open for; it was no secret that Paul was the resident_ man-whore_ of La Push. Somehow she felt like he treated her differently to all those other girls… but that could be what they _all _thought.

Steph looked down at her phone; it was eleven a.m. which meant that the guys were all out at break. She swallowed hard and hoped that she could avoid them.

"So what's your favourite subject?" Paul broke the silence.

"English." She said surely; Paul nodded knowingly.

"Right, right. I remember you told me you write." She nodded and smiled.

"Yeah."

"Maybe I could read your books one day? What are they called again? Try- something." Paul asked as he pulled into the school parking lot; Steph's heart beat sped up.

"Twilight… and no, you can't read them. _Nobody will ever read them_." She said in a mischievous voice trying to cover her apprehension with a joke; it worked- Paul laughed.

They got out of the truck and started towards school; he slung an arm over her shoulder and pressed a smooth kiss to her cheek as they walked. From the windows, students were staring out and pointing at them; some of them glaring- most of that some were_ female_ -of course.

Steph and Paul made their way to English, luckily it was an empty classroom; they could hear that most of the students were in the yard.

Steph opened the door without knocking; Mr. Morton looked up from his papers.

"Oh Miss Meyer… and Mr _Meraz_? (Cue disbelieving stare) Long time no see; what can I do for you today?" He asked with a smile; she was happy that he didn't judge her or seem phased by her appearance.

"Hey sir, I was wondering if you have any catch-up work I could get onto?" She asked him; his eyes widened.

"Erm, I do… but it's hardly necessary. I understand that you, Mr Meraz and some other students here are doing some work for the council." Steph nodded knowingly.

"Still, I'd like to do something." She pleaded; Mr. Morton nodded approvingly.

"Well that's very studious of you…. What about you Mr. Meraz?" Steph smiled and answered before him,

"He'd love some." Paul's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish before glaring at her; she laughed internally. Steph left the classroom with a mumbling Paul who was holding a large pile consisting of text books, paper and scripts.

"I can't believe you got me schoolwork." He growled at her as he began to shake lightly.

"Not here." She scolded with a smile as they made their way back towards the parking lot; Paul walked ahead and put the books in the truck.

"Steph?" She froze and turned around slowly to see Quil, Jacob and Embry running towards her with quickly fading smiles as they got a load of the tattoo on her shoulder. Soon their faces were just hard masks.

"Hey guys." She tried to say brightly; the three of them just blinked.

"Hey Stephanie." Embry mumbled as Quil and Jacob merely nodded; Steph swallowed hard.

"Guys, I…" She was cut off by Quil.

"So this is why you weren't at school then?" He spat as he looked her up and down and shook his head; it was obvious that she was taking steroids now, along with the rest of them. Look at the way she was shaking, probably withdrawal symptoms.

"Tell me that's just a stick-on." Embry pleaded as he nodded towards the symbol on her right arm; Steph couldn't help it, she burst into uncontrollable tears and just stood there like a loser.

"Oh come on Steph, don't do that." Embry said as he engulfed her in a hug; she leaned into his chest but kept on crying. The tears just wouldn't stop; it was like everything that she had ever been sad about was coming out at this moment.

She heard Jacob ask Embry what he was doing and then a deep snarl, suddenly, she was ripped away from Embry and into someone else's hot chest.

"Hands off Call!" Paul snarled; Steph tried to pull away but instead he held her closer.

"What the hell have you and your _cult_ done to her?" Embry roared; even Quil and Jacob flinched.

"Embry, please." Steph pulled herself closer to Paul when he started to shake lightly, it seized instantly; Paul smirked down at her and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead; she melted into his embrace. Embry's eyes widened.

"You? And _him_? Are you _kidding_ me?" He exclaimed.

"Shut the fuck up Call and don't talk about things you don't understand!" Paul replied as he started to vibrate. Steph wiped her face on his shirt and looked up.

"Paul, come on let's go!" Steph said as she tried to push him towards the trees.

"Whatever they have on you Steph, we'll find out and we'll help!" Embry shouted as they disappeared into the woods. Quil looked at his friend incredulously, 'we'll'? Why the hell was Embry volunteering him? Did he _see _the size of Paul?

Meanwhile, Jake stood there, mouth ajar; he couldn't believe they had gotten Steph of all people. She only just got here for Christ's sake!

…. ….

Steph pushed her bangs out of her face as she watched the older wolf pacing in front of her.

"You can't keep doing that." She breathed; wolf Paul stopped walking and faced her; his tongue fell out of his giant mouth.

"You have to control your temper." She said as she stroked his long fur; he looked up at her and whined.

"… I can't phase, you left your truck at school remember?" She reminded him; he nodded his wolfy head. Steph laughed as she bent down and pulled out a pair of cut-offs from her small backpack, holding them out towards him. He turned his head sideways in wonder.

"What? I packed them just in case." She answered; she didn't know why he hadn't thought of having extra clothes with him. Wolf Paul took the cut-offs before running further into the forest and returning human.

"Thanks." He said shortly; she smiled in response. He took her hand as they made their way back to the car and drove off towards Emily's.

"You okay?" He asked Steph; she hadn't spoken at all since he phased back. She nodded her head in response.

"So, are you not speaking to me or something?" He asked gruffly; she turned to him.

"It's not you. I mean, did you see the look on their faces?" She asked quietly; Paul smirked lightly.

"Them? Nah! They're just mad because they lost their friend." Paul said with a shrug.

"I lost them too." She replied quietly and looked out of the passenger's window.

Paul exhaled lightly and pulled up at Emily's; he wasn't good at this chick stuff.

They both stepped out of the truck as Emily walked out to greet them; the smell of roasted potatoes, meat loaf, chicken legs and vegetables graced their noses.

"Hey Paul, Stephanie. How are you two today? Are you hungry?" Before she had even finished the sentence, Paul was inside the house.

"Hey Emily." Steph laughed as she hugged the older girl; she had really gotten to know Emily over the last few weeks. She was just as nice and caring as she was in the books.

"Hey Em, how are things going?" Steph asked as they both strolled towards the house.

"Quite lonely actually, Sam's having to spend all his time watching over Jacob, so im just here." She answered like she was glad to get it off of her chest; it was nice to have another girl around; sure she had Kim but the girl hardly spoke.

"Oh right, sorry. Probably still gonna be a little while longer." Steph told Emily as they walked inside.

"Kim, Jared." She nodded to the couple who were huddled together on the couch; Kim peeked over the couch and smiled briefly before turning her attention back to Jared._ Ah, the art of imprinting._

Emily placed a plate of food in front of Steph and she began to inhale in, not even bothering to check what it was. Paul was doing the same.

….

Steph enjoyed watching TV and drinking Kool-Aid while she could; she knew that any minute now, Sam would 'sound the alarm' and assemble the pack because Embry Call had phased – shock horror. She could see it now, both the confusion _and_ the big 'who's your daddy' debate.

_Splendid._

She wasn't interested in all that hoop la, the only thing she wanted to find out was _how _he phased; she never really touched over that subject in her books so she couldn't wait to see it in his head.

Steph's eye brows furrowed as she heard heavy footsteps make their way towards her front door; she wasn't expecting anyone. Paul who she missed _sooo_ much right now was still on patrol, Jared was at Kim's (as usual), Sam was busy stalking the _wrong _cub and her dad wasn't due home from work until eight- it was only five thirty.

Steph grumbled as she got up and trudged to the front door before opening it; her mouth fell open when she saw who it was.

"Are you alone?" Steph nodded her head dumbly.

"Hey Steph." He mumbled as he walked in without an invitation; she didn't fail to spot the sweat stains on his shirt that totally contrasted with the cold weather, yeah he was close to phasing. Steph sighed and shook her head at the cruel universe; so she was the reason, huh? And so the plot thickens!

"Hey Embry, what can I do to you?" She asked as she led him through the house and into the kitchen where she leant on the back door; her yard backed onto the forest.

"I wanted to say sorry… for today." He finished as he shifted from one foot to the other; Steph cleared her throat; how did he even know where she lived?  
"It's fine, im sorry for ruining your shirt… with my tears." He nodded his head and scratched the back of it through the silence.

"Is that all?" She prompted; she wondered why he was just standing there like a lemon.

"No, actually I wanted to talk." Steph lifted an eye brow.

"So talk." She prompted again; Embry swallowed hard before beginning; he didn't know how to dish this.

"Stephanie, I want you to tell me what's going on with you and Sam Uley's gang." His voice was serious and almost threatening.

"Nothing's going on; we hang, that's all." Steph shrugged, lying without effort; Embry shook his head, he wouldn't believe it; he knew it was deeper than that.

"People don't usually get tattoos to 'hang' Steph." He replied using air quotes; Steph shifted her weight onto her right foot.

"Embry, ive told you the answer, whether you wanna believe it or not is your problem." She smiled inwardly as he began to shake lightly.

"Why are you protecting them? I mean, look at yourself; you went from five five to five nine in like two weeks! That isn't natural!" Embry exclaimed as his shaking got worse; Steph stood back. _Ha!_ He could talk, she was sure that he wasn't _this_ muscled or tall when she first started school.

"Im not _protecting_ anyone." She said slowly, carefully enunciating each word. Embry's eyes widened as if he'd just realised something and a quiet growl escaped his throat.

"It's him isn't it? It's _Paul_. He's the reason you're keeping quiet!" He raged; Steph looked away and blushed, she definitely wasn't expecting that.

"I can't believe this shit- you do know that he's fucked just about every girl in La Push, right?" He was almost blurring now; Steph turned quickly and swung the back door open.

"Im sorry Embry, I really am." She said as she grabbed his shirt with both hands and all but threw him outside; he tumbled to the ground and exploded right there in her back yard. It was times like this when she was thankful that she didn't have any neighbours.

**Thoughts?  
So another one bites the dust. **

**You know what to do, **

**But if you don't, it's… REVIEW!**


	9. Yeesh!

**A.N. Hey guys, here's the next chapter. I really hope you like it XD**

"Im not _protecting_ anyone." She said slowly, carefully enunciating each word. Embry's eyes widened as if he'd just realised something and a quiet growl escaped his throat.

"It's him isn't it? It's _Paul_. He's the reason you're keeping quiet!" He raged; Steph looked away and blushed, she definitely wasn't expecting that.

"I can't believe this shit- you do know that he's fucked just about every girl in La Push, right?" He was almost blurring now; Steph turned quickly and swung the back door open.

"Im sorry Embry, I really am." She said as she grabbed his shirt with both hands and all but threw him outside; he tumbled to the ground and exploded right there in her back yard. It was times like this when she was thankful that she didn't have any neighbours.

Steph cocked her head to one side as she stared at the panicking cub in her back garden. He was cute, his fur was dark grey with small black spots on his back but nowhere as cute as Paul- he was pure silver. She removed her clothes and phased, just in time to hear the end of the new wolf's rant.

_...I've got paws! Fucking paws man! Paws!_ –Embry

_Relax Call! -_ Paul

_S'up Newbie! -_ Jared

_Gah! Please stop shouting_- Steph hissed.

She was just getting used to the werewolf hearing, not to mention she was tired.

_Hey babe_. - Paul.

He missed her while he was patrolling.

_Hey_- Steph.

She accidentally exposed the memory of how he phased.

_You phased in her house?-_ Paul raged; he could have hurt her.

The rest of the pack were overrun with angry emotions; that meant that Embry was too. Steph watched as she began to growl as he paced.

_Paul, curve the animosity-_ Steph.

She didn't need Embry to try and run away; Paul tried to calm down.

_Stephanie? Is that you? - _Embry.

His wolf turned to her for the first time; she nodded. All of a sudden, the pack mind was filled with different images of her; her hair on the first day of school, the way she walked, her smile. These images were accompanied by a strong feeling… _love_.

_Yeesh! That's embarrassing_. – Jared.

Anger rose in the pack again; this time ten fold.

**Paul, phase out!** - Sam.

Well this was very awkward; Sam knew he'd have to stop Paul from killing Embry later. Steph stood there with her wolfy mouth ajar; she really didn't know what to do.

_Why can I hear you in my head? Great, now im crazy_! – Embry.

He was totally oblivious as to what the pack now knew; he didn't realise that they heard and felt _everything._

_You're not crazy Embry; you're a werewolf-_ Sam.

He tried to ignore what had just happened.

_Sam Uley? Why the fuck are you in my head?_ - Embry

_Relax Embry, you're okay. We share a pack mind_- Sam

_A what?_ -Embry

_Do you remember the legends?_ - Sam

_No-_ Embry. What was he even talking about?

_Well, they're real..._ _wait… no?_ – Sam.

He had forgotten that Embry _supposedly_ wasn't Quilieute.

_You mean your tribe legends? Nah, I haven't heard them_. – Embry.

Sam groaned inwardly; this made things just a little more difficult.

_Sam, do we really need to be here?_ - Jared.

He really wanted to get back to _Kim_.

_No, you can go back to Emily's; tell Paul to go there too. Steph, can you bring Embry over_? - Sam.

Steph looked to the young wolf that was pacing the lawn frantically; she turned to him and sat down.

_Embry, if I take you, are you gonna try and run away?_ - Steph.

Embry approached her and nudged her face.

_No, I'll go with you_- Embry.

Steph led the way as they jumped the small three foot fence and ran through the forest.

_This is so cool_ – Embry. He liked the way the wind felt on his muzzle.

_I know right_- Steph laughed awkwardly.

This didn't really know how to act around him now. When they neared Emily's, they found the rest of the pack blocking their way; Sam in the middle, Jared on the left and a very angry looking human Paul on the right. Steph's breathing hitched; she couldn't tare her eyes away from him.

_Steph and Jared phase back. I need to talk to Embry_. – Sam.

Steph nodded her head and walked behind a tree to phase back; as soon as she stepped out, she was swept up into Paul's arms; he growled constantly while he carried her bridal style all the way to Emily's. As soon as they got in, Jared scurried hopelessly to Kim's side.

"What happened?" Emily asked them; she didn't expect them to be home so fast.

"Well, Embry Call phased. Did the whole 'why do I have paws, am I crazy' routine and everything… plus some _other _things." Jared said from the couch as he struggled to keep the laughter out of his voice; Emily looked around for some kind of explanation.

Paul sat down and pulled Steph into his lap; the weird thing was that it didn't feel like an odd movement; she curled up into his wide chest. Emily looked over the pair thoughtfully before turning and lighting the stove.

"What's wrong?" Steph whispered to him, quiet enough that nobody else could hear.

"You know what's wrong." He ground out; she placed her hand on his chest and drew little circles.

She did know what was wrong; Paul Meraz, _the_ Paul Meraz was _jealous_. It was silent for a while.

"It could be you." He told her with a gruff voice; her brows furrowed.

"What could be me?" She asked him.

"He could imprint on _you_." Paul answered; she felt a tremor run through his body.

"You don't have to worry about that." She said as she clung to him like her life depended on it. She knew it was wrong, but for some reason she couldn't stop herself, she didn't have the strength to pull away. It was like she was just where she needed to be. Paul buried his head in the crook of her neck and purred approvingly.

Half an hour later, Sam strolled in with a very distraught looking Embry at his side; Steph guessed that he'd realised what he had exposed. She stood up and smiled encouragingly in his direction; Embry return it with a deep blush. Steph looked right into his eyes just to prove a point and just as she thought, he hadn't imprinted on her. Embry's face fell slightly… _and then she felt bad. _

Paul growled and pulled her back into his lap… it was _odd_. He was so territorial; it was like his wolf was yearning for her to be near, yearning to protect her yet she wasn't his imprint.

Sam explained more to Embry about what it meant to be a wolf while Emily cut his long hair; he seemed excited at the concept of protecting the tribe. The only thing that had worried him was how his mother was going to take the news; Sam quickly squashed the concern when he assured Embry that they had no intention of telling her anything.

Once Emily was finished with his hair, she was replaced with Jared who started on his tattoo.

"You ready to go?" Paul mumbled into Steph's hair, it was nine o'clock already. Her dad was probably wondering where she was… or maybe not, he knew about the pack so he'd expect it.

"Yeah." She mumbled into his chest; he huffed and picked her up bridal style before turning towards the door.

"Im taking Steph home." He announced darkly. Sam waited until they were outside before approaching them.

"Paul! Wait a sec." He turned to Sam. Steph put her head up and jumped down from his grasp; Paul kept her close though. Sam watched their movements closely; it was as if some kind of invisible string was holding them together…. _Like _an imprint… but not.

"Go wait in the truck Steph." Paul told her gruffly; he had an idea about what Sam was going to say and he didn't want her to be there to hear it. She nodded sleepily and waddled towards the truck, getting in and falling asleep with her head up against the inside of the door almost instantly. Paul made sure she was okay before settling down on the porch steps next to Sam.

"I know what you're gonna ask Sam and the answer is 'I don't know'. There's just something about her." He told Sam as he kept his eyes trained on the truck.

"I don't know how plainly I can put it but Paul, _she isn't your imprint_." Sam told him straight; Paul's eyes widened as he stood up and growled loudly while his body began to shake lightly. His wolf didn't like hearing it.

"You think I don't fucking _know_ that Sam?" He spat at the alpha. Sam exhaled before standing and leaning against the banister. He knew that the young wolf was nowhere near finished.

"I mean, I've been around Sam. You know that, heck everybody knows that… but with her it's different. I just, I dunno she just does _things_ to the wolf… _and the man_. When im around _her_, im different. I can't think properly, every thought is filled with ways to protect her from something or keep her away from single males. I just, I just don't get it Sam."

Sam exhaled again; what do you say to that?  
"I can't say I know what you're going through Paul, because I don't. I can see she feels it too though…. Whatever it is. Im just asking you to think this through before you go any further, okay? You know what happened between Leah and I. What happens if you imprint? What happens to Steph? … I think we have to consult with the elders" Sam's voice was low yet calming; it was silent for a few moments while Paul thought it through; he knew his alpha was right but what if this thing with Steph was a type of imprinting?

"What do_ you_ think is happening?" Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he needed Sam's help to figure this one out.

"I honestly don't know. The way you two act, there aren't any legends for that. When did it start?" Paul thought back.

"It was always there but it really intensified yesterday after she phased but more today after that douche bag Call put his hands all over her… and then it increased _a lot_ more when he phased." Sam nodded as he thought about it.

"It could have been that you were the only available male in the pack so you bonded to her. Then when Embry phased your wolf felt threatened therefore becoming more territorial. I can't think of anything else Paul, there's never been a female wolf before." Sam tried; Paul nodded knowingly.

"…But all Im saying Paul is don't take it any further." Sam finished; Paul stayed silent for a while as he stared at the side of the truck.

"I'll think about it Sam." He said finally as he got up to leave without saying another word.

**Thoughts?**

**Ooo, does anyone else think Paul's hot when he's territorial?  
I know I do!**

**Character pics on my page XD**

**You know what to do, **

**If you don't, it's…. REVIEW!**


	10. victoria

**A.N. Hey guys, did you not like the last chapter? I only got two reviews so I wandered if it was bad. Sorry if it was. XD**

**Anyway, thank-you to ****ImDaMnShOrTaNdPrOuD**** and ****Blairx6661**** who did review. **

**Here's the next chapter **

Steph woke up in her room and looked around; how did she get here? Her mind was cast back to the night before; right, she was at Sam's when she fell asleep. Paul must have brought her back; she smiled at the thought and then frowned.

She had remembered that she shouldn't be smiling; he wasn't hers and she _had to remember_ that. But it seemed like when he was around, she just couldn't help herself. He was addictive to her….. Could it be that she was falling in love, already?

She got out of bed and walked to the bathroom where she had a shower and got dressed, this time in a small red sundress. It was one of the only pieces of clothing she had left that actually still fit. She didn't bother with shoes at the moment.

Steph went downstairs to find the house empty, her dad had left already so she made herself some breakfast and settled on the coach, that's when she started to think about Paul; what was he doing right now? Probably the same thing as her, alone and eating; after all, he didn't live with his parents.

His mother died long ago when Paul was only four from an intense beating delivered by his dad who was also deceased due to his excessive drinking. So he was alone. Although, she knew better than to pity him; he didn't need it, nor did he want it. He was a proud guy who probably enjoyed living alone for some odd reason.

Steph sat up in her seat and smiled; maybe she could go and see him before he had a chance to come here.

She grabbed her keys and left the house; her smile dropped when she realised that she had no idea where she was going. She lifted her nose to the sky; unfortunately his scent from last night had faded with the wind. _Great._

Steph groaned and walked back into her house, something caught her eye on the table next to the door; a note with cash. Steph smiled as she licked her finger briefly and counted it; _one hundred and fifty dollars_. She read the note;

_Hey Steph, _

_Gone to work. Use money for new clothes_

_Dad x_

She smiled again and ran upstairs to get her red converse then stuffed the money into her sock. A loud knock made her jump. She opened the door to find Paul standing there with a shit eating grin.

"What are you so happy about?" He looked her up and down and absent mindedly licked his lips.

"Im always happy when I get to see you." He shrugged as he sauntered in and pulled her into a hug, burying his nose into the crook in his neck.

"Whatever." She said as she pulled away; he laughed at her.

"What are we doing today?" He asked her as he does everyday; Steph smiled brightly.

"We're going shopping, im running out of clothes." She told him as she looked him up and down.

"What?" He asked as they left the house.

"We have to go back to your house first. So which way?" She said as she looked around; his brows furrowed.

"Why do we need to go to mine?"

"Because we're shopping in _Forks_, I don't think they'd appreciate it if you walked around exposing the goods." She laughed as she gestured to his bare torso.

"Oh, right…. Wait, _the goods_?" He questioned as he flexed his muscles; she just about died.

"Yeah, the goods." She laughed again; he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer so that they were chest to chest.

"You think im sexy don't you Steph?" His voice was low; her breath hitched in her throat as she tried to pull away. He kept her where she was…. Although she could have pulled away, she just didn't want to.

"_No_."

"Liar." He breathed into her ear; a rush of heat flooded to her core.

"Shut up." She said as she slapped his chest; he was about to reply when a howl ripped through the air.

"Do we ever get a day off?" Steph groaned as she began to remove her clothes, tied them on her ankle and phased. She quickly threw her shoes down near a tree and took off into the forest with Paul.

_What?_ – Steph.

Her mind was assaulted with images of Sam chasing a leech, a _red headed _leech. Shit, it was Victoria. Steph and Paul began to charge towards the scene; she ran faster than she had ever run before until they joined up with the rest of the pack.

_Do whatever you have to do, just make sure she doesn't get to the cliffs_- Sam.

They ran harder and faster; Steph caught sight of Victoria and charged ahead, she was sprinting at such blinding speed yet Steph's eyes could pick up every movement. Paul snapped at the leech's shoes, successfully catching her foot and swinging her into the air. The rest of the pack closed in on her, unfortunately, Victoria was fast so she turned to in the air and landed on a tree before hissing at them.

She jumped from tree to tree as the chase commenced again; the pack ran together and was finally closing down on her; it seemed like they'd actually catch her this time….. That was of course until Victoria turned and threw her arm out, throwing Steph into a nearby tree; she felt her arm crack as she landed on the cold forest floor with a thud.

_That bitch!_ – Steph screamed as she phased out involuntarily; she was sure that Victoria had dislocated her shoulder. Paul stopped running all of a sudden and turned around to find her.

_Paul, what are you doing?_ – Sam. He couldn't believe what was happening, Paul was their best fighter and he was flaking out.

Steph tried to move but her left arm was killing her; she wanted to finish Victoria for this.

"Are you okay babe?" Paul asked frantically as he ran to her and tried to pull his shorts up; he pulled her sundress from her ankle and helped her get it on without looking. He respected her too much to take a peek at a time like this.

"Thanks." She mumbled as he picked her up without another word; his jaw clenched. He was gonna kill that leech for hurting his Steph…. But when exactly did she become _his _Steph?

"_Steph, are you okay_?" He asked again; his eyes were hard yet caring.

"Im fine Paul, I think she dislocated my shoulder though." Her words were followed by his low growl. Definitely gonna kill the leech.

An angry Sam emerged from the woods with Jared and Embry flanking him on either side.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" He roared; Steph flinched at the tone. Sam began to tremble violently.

"She was hurt!" Paul screamed back; Steph jumped down from his arms, wincing from the pain in _her _left one.

"AND? YOU LET THE LEECH GET AWAY!" Sam trembled more.

"What was I supposed to do? Leave her alone? Her fucking arm's broken Sam! Im not the only one in this pack." Paul retorted as he got into Sam's face; Steph gasped, he was treading on foreign ground, Sam was _alpha._

She stepped forward, only to be pulled back by Jared who just shook his head in her direction; it was better if she stayed out of it. She moved and settled between him and Embry.

"Embry, Jared, Stephanie. Go back to Emily's." Sam told them; the boys nodded and pulled a lightly shaking Steph away.

"Paul, stand down." Sam threatened; Paul didn't move.

"I said, **stand down**." The alpha order ran through his body and he stepped back involuntarily.

"Whatever goes on with you and Stephanie in your own time is your problem. But when it affects the pack, ive gotta step in." He took a deep breath before continuing.

"One more slip up Paul, just one more and im ordering you to stay away from her." Paul turned towards the alpha in disbelief; surely an order was just a bit over the top.

"You can't do that!" He replied as he punched a tree; Sam exhaled loudly.

"I can Paul, and I will." Paul sucked in a breath through his nose.

"Im sorry Paul, I really am." Sam told him before phasing and leaving him alone with his thoughts.

….meanwhile

Steph sat at Emily's, sandwiched between Jared and Embry on the couch; she couldn't believe how angry Sam was, and it was _all_ because of her. After a while, she got up and went outside to sit on the porch in a feeble attempt to rid herself of the guilt, it didn't work; her arm was healing fast so at least that was one less thing to bother her.

She heard someone walking through the trees and stood up, much to her disappointment, it was _just _Sam.

"Where's Paul?" She asked him; trying to look behind his large body. Sam ran a hard over his face tiredly.

"I don't know Steph. Just give him some time to work his head out." Steph frowned; what did that even mean?

"Sam, about the hunt with Victoria, im sorry th…" Steph trailed off, her heart rate increased. _Why oh why did she say Victoria?_ Sam's eyes flew to hers.

"What did you just call the leech?" Steph stepped back as she thought of something to say.

"Victoria." She shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.

"And_ why_ did you call it Victoria?" Steph crossed her arms over her chest.

"I dunno, I was tired of calling her a leech so I gave her a name." Sam nodded suspiciously and went inside; Steph let out a breath. That was too close. She sat back down on the porch and waited for Paul. Why would he need to sort out his head?

After a while she could hear Embry coming out to join her.  
"Hey." He said as he sat down.

"Hey." She answered.

"So, how's your arm?" He asked her quietly.

"It's okay, thanks for asking." He cleared his throat before continuing.

"Look Steph, about what you saw…" Steph cut him off.

"Embry, you don't have to explain yourself; it's really not necessary." She rushed; she didn't need to hear him declare his undying love for her right now. He turned to her and looked into her eyes, searching for something; he then nodded his head and stood up. She realised that he was hurting. Steph stood and grabbed his arm before he could leave.

"No Embry, don't leave, okay?" He looked down to her and nodded slowly before sitting down with her again. After a few minutes of silence, Steph decided to break it.

"Im flattered, that you feel that way." She told him as she looked out into the forest; Embry turned to her with sad eyes.

"...And I really hope we can be friends. Really good friends." She didn't know what else to say. Embry smiled wryly.

"I'd like that Steph; I'd like it a lot." She nodded her head and leaned in the hug him; he accepted it willingly and squeezed her tightly. Her eyes widened in surprise when she felt him sniff her quietly; she pulled away straight away and raised her eyes brows at him. He smiled sheepishly at her.

"Sorry… couldn't help myself." Steph laughed and shook her head at him.

**Thoughts?**

**So Paul and Steph are getting weirder. **

**Character pics on my page. **

**  
You know what to do, **

**But if you don't it's… REVIEW!**

**Thoughts?**

**So Paul and Steph are getting weirder. **

**  
You know what to do, **

**But if you don't it's… REVIEW!**


	11. possession

**A.N. So here's the next chapter. **

She sat on the couch next to Embry; his arm slung over her shoulder in a brotherly fashion as Sam went through their patrolling schedule.

Steph grumbled when she discovered that she wouldn't be patrolling with Paul _at all_ anytime soon. She had to run the perimeter from ten till two on Wednesdays with Embry then the same time on Friday with Jared. The door opened loudly and in came a very tired looking Paul; the whole room went silent.

His eyes perused the room until they landed on Stephanie, his wolf growled in approval….

That was until he saw Embry's arm around her_. Embry Call, the only _available _male in the pack apart from him; the one who was unintentionally confessing his undying love for her earlier in the day. _Paul growled loudly before stalking across the room.

"Take. Your. Hand. Off her." Embry stared the older wolf down for a while before removing his arm slowly; Steph was shocked at this random outburst; her mouth lay ajar as she took in the scene.

"Paul, relax." She said as she blushed and moved out of Embry's grasp anyway; the whole room was staring at her then Paul then her again.

"I'll _relax_ when _males _stop touching you!" Paul's nostrils flared; Jared coughed 'whipped' under his breath and chuckled until Paul silenced him with a glare.

The room was chillingly quiet; Steph had never been this embarrassed in her life yet she felt the need to listen to him.

Paul took her and hiked her up into his arms before carrying her out of the house without another word.

Emily looked at Sam with raised eye brows and he just shrugged.

"I have no idea Em; Im going to the council about it tomorrow." The rest of the room nodded. This shit was getting freaky.

Steph jumped down from his arms once they were out of hearing range.

"What the hell was that?" Her voice was tired rather than angry; Paul looked away.

"I don't know." He grunted; she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You can't go around acting like that…its weird…. Not to mention embarrassing… You have no claim over me." She whispered; tears threatened to fall yet she had no idea why.

"The hell I don't." He retorted with a snort;_ she_ looked away this time. Paul moved closer to her and used his finger on her chin to make her look at him.

"Tell me you don't feel it Steph." She became nervous and tried to look away, but he wouldn't let her.

"….And tell the truth this time." She nodded into his hands.

"I feel it Paul." He exhaled through his nose and pulled her into his body.

"Im sorry for acting so crazy. I just can't stand other men having their hands on you. It's fucking infuriating." He ground out; Steph giggled.

"I dunno… it's kinda hot." She told him; his head moved back in surprise while his mouth spread into a lopsided grin. He lowered his head to hers slowly and ever so gently placed a scorching kiss on her soft lips; his head lifted and he smiled widely.

Steph couldn't stop her smile as she buried her face into his chest.

"Im not trying to lose my man- card here but that was the best kiss I've ever had." Paul told her; she laughed at him.

"I know… but now I need to go back inside. You on the other hand have patrol." She reminded him; he grunted in response.

"When you got patrol?" He hoped that maybe she could go with him at one point or the other. Then they could do something else….

"Ten till two on Wednesday with Embry and same time on Friday with Jared." She recited it like she was trying to keep it in her head.

"He did that on purpose." Paul growled; Sam could never understand how he was feeling right now.

"_Stop growling_. Go on, get to patrol. I'll be fine. Im gonna go back inside." She laughed as she tiptoed and kiss his lips chastely; Paul thought that her lips tasted like candy.

Before she could walk away, he hiked her up onto his waist and pressed his lips to hers again; she let out a surprised squeal but didn't pull away, his lips were addictive. Paul deepened the kiss and backed her up against the nearest tree, grinding his body into hers; Steph moaned from the friction. His large hands left her waist and began to explore toned body until he reached her breast; he squeezed lightly.

Steph squirmed under him and wrapped his legs around his waist, pulling him into her; he groaned in frustration as he rubbed himself against the burning ache between her legs.

"Paul, we need to stop." Steph gasped even though she really didn't want to; he whined into the crook of her neck before stepping back, allowing her to land softly on her feet.

"Tease." He mumbled; she laughed and kissed him once more before jogging towards the house, only stopping when she reached the door.

"See you later." She said, knowing that he could hear her; Paul swore under his breath before walking, very uncomfortably, into the forest for his patrol.

Steph walked back into the house gingerly and everyone stared up at her expectantly. She just put her head down and walked back to her seat next to Embry in silence.

She could literally feel the discomfort rolling off him so she looked up into his disappointed eyes. She cursed herself; he could probably smell Paul all over her; she tried to curve her happiness for his sake. He cared for him in some way, just not the way he wanted. She spent the rest of the day at Emily's with the pack (minus Paul) until it was time to leave…

Steph couldn't stop herself from smiling as she closed her front door behind her; she had kissed Paul… and more. Now that no one was near, she could use her time to think.

"Hey dad." She screamed as she ran upstairs, she wasn't interested in talking to him right now; she just wanted to go to her room and think everything over.

Steph stared up at her magnolia ceiling and just breathed for a while, being a werewolf was all sorts of draining; physically and emotionally; she lay still for a few hours and drifted in and out of sleep until she felt a bit better.

Steph rolled over to the bed side table and checked the time- one a.m. Another day gone and she could hardly remember doing anything concrete. What_ had_ she done today anyway? Woken up, eaten, chased Victoria, gotten hurt, caused an argument and made out with the hottest guy ever. She smiled at the thought.

Steph listened out for her dad; he had gone to bed and was snoring like he always did in the deepest of slumbers; she smiled weakly. Nothing could wake him up when he was like that; nothing at all; not even if a freight train came charging through the house.

So what was tomorrow? Nothing significant as far as she knew; although maybe Victoria would return and give her a bit of a chase. That would be entertaining; she really wanted to take a chunk out of that leech's head. Other than that she could maybe go down to Forks like she'd originally planned today; get some real shopping done. Loads and loads of cheap and disposable clothes; yep, that was a plan.

Steph thought about her books again; she wouldn't change anything about them. The plot was perfect where no one got hurt and everyone got what they needed.

Well not everyone, not Rachel Black; Steph hoped that _she'd _never set foot in La Push again. It was a selfish thought but hey, what can you do? She wondered if she'd end up like Leah when the inevitable happened though; lonely…..bitter…an angry soul. _Probably._

Steph sat up and stared at them; what if she_ could_ change something, anything? Be it small or large. The events leading up to Embry's phasing had changed her overall prospective; maybe she was the key to everything. _Like the master of fate._

She smiled at the thought... then frowned. For now she'd try, try her hardest to keep it as it should be…. Her thinking was interrupted when she heard a twig break outside her window; she stood up into a crouch and let a quiet growl out. She stalked towards the scene as she began to vibrate lightly.

A smile spread across her face when she saw someone standing under the window; someone whom she knew very well. After listening out for her father again, making sure he wasn't awake, she opened the window and poked her head out.

"What are you doing here? It's almost two o'clock in the morning." She whispered- shouted; this was so like him.

"Can I come up?" She giggled

"Yeah." Steph moved back into the room and waited until Paul pulled his body into the room.

"Hey babe." His said as he closed the window quietly.

"You shouldn't be here. What if my dad wakes up?" Steph crossed her arms over her chest.

"No worries, he won't. I'll be quiet." Paul reassured her with a smirk; she nodded and leaned back against her chest of drawers as he moved closer to her. She knew he was right, and even if Jamal were to wake up, it wouldn't be that bad… okay, yeah it would be.

He wasn't the kind of dad who just barged into her bedroom whenever he wanted. She didn't even think he'd been near her side of the hallway; he liked to give her privacy.

"So, what do you want?" She breathed; he chuckled and used his hands to pull her hips into his; she gasped quietly.

"You." His voice was husky and low; his face was buried in the crook of her neck.

"Well you can't have me." She said playfully as she ducked under his arms and tried to get away; he caught her before she could get far enough and pulled her onto the bed with him; they both landed with a thud then waited to hear if Jamal had woken up; luckily he hadn't. Steph giggled; this was all so _bad_.

Paul rolled them over so that she was under him and settled between her legs as he brought both of her hands over her head and held them to the bed.

"I think you'll find that I always get what I want." Her breathing hitched.

"…But guess what?" He asked her as his hand snaked down between her legs and cupped her hot mound; she groaned.

"…Im not gonna take it." He finished as he rolled them over so that she was on top; she looked down at him with a pout. He laughed quietly at her expression then his face went serious as he ran his thumb over her cheek.

"Listen Steph, I know I haven't told you this yet but you're not like all of those other girls." Steph exhaled a breath.

"…It's different with you. I promise." He whispered; she blushed deeply.

"I bet that's what you tell all the girls." She laughed; he looked horrified.

"I was joking Paul. Paul." She said as she shook him; he looked pained and rolled her off him before sitting up.

"This is the only time I've actually meant it." He told her as he rubbed his face with both his hands; she moved to him and placed her hand on his back.

"Im sorry Paul, I didn't mean…" He cut her off.

"It's not you Steph, it's me. I can't help myself when im around you… but im trying, god knows im trying. I just wanna take it slow is that okay?" He asked her with worried eyes. Steph's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish; she couldn't believe _Paul _was the one telling _her_ to take it slow.

"Yeah, we can take it slow." She agreed as she lay down and pulled him down too; his arms wrapped around her body and pulled her closer so they were lying in the spooning position. He breathed in her scent; she wiggled her hips into him and he growled.

"You're not helping the whole 'taking it slow' thing, ya know." She laughed and allowed herself to be sucked into sleep. Paul did the same.

**Thoughts?**

**Aww, Paul is sooo sweet. He's like the ideal guy if you really know him.**

**Character pics on my page. **

**If you like this, you should totally check out my other stories. **

**You know what to do, **

**If you don't it's…. REVIEW!**

**No flames please XD**


	12. first patrol

**A.N. Here's another chapter. I know some of you aren't fans of Paul or Steph at this moment lol; to be honest neither am I. They're so cheesy! Lol .**

Steph woke up and turned off her alarm; nine a.m. that meant that she only had one hour to get ready for patrol. _Great_. She rolled over to find nobody there; only a small piece of paper on the pillow. She picked it up and read it;

_Didn't want daddy to catch us_

_Good luck on patrol_

_Paul x_

Steph smiled as she ripped up the evidence and tossed it into the bin beside her bed; she buried her nose into what she had deemed 'Paul's pillow' and inhaled his woodsy scent. The speed at which things had changed between them over the last few days was unreal. But then again, wasn't everything in her new life?

Steph got out of bed and had a shower, dressing in her uniform tank and shorts before making her way downstairs for breakfast- alone as usual. When she was done, she looked up at the clock- _ten a.m_.; time for patrol. Steph walked into the woods and phased.

_Morning Embry_ – Steph.

She ran to the clearing where they had agreed to meet.

_Hey Steph, how's it going?_ - Embry.

The two of them ran alongside each other through the forest following the trail that Sam had marked out for them.

_Not too bad. What did you tell your mom when you left this morning?_ – Steph.

She tried her hardest not to think about the night before.

_Well first when I got back last night from Sam's there was a lot of shouting. This morning I left before she woke up_– Embry.

_Im sorry Embry, why don't you get the council to just tell your mom? It would make this whole thing easier; oh yeah, how did you like your introduction meeting last night?_ – Steph laughed.

She knew that in reality they were boring.

_First of all, trust me when I say that my mom's better off not knowing and second of all, the meeting wasn't that bad, that was until the council decided to take it upon themselves to find out who my father is_ – Embry.

Steph felt kind of guilty for bringing it up.

_Right, you're from the Makah rez_ – Steph pretended like she had just remembered and tried to close her mind up so that only her voice was heard by him.

_Yeah but now we know that my dad was definitely Quilieute_- Embry.

Steph kept quiet after that, she didn't really know what to say; neither of them spoke for a while; instead they enjoyed each other's company in silence.

…..

She phased out and walked out to Embry; her legs felt like jello. Surely that much running was _not healthy_.

"I feel like im gonna pass out." She groaned, pretending to fall all over him; Embry chuckled.

"I know what you mean... Now im starving." He said as-a-matter-of-factly; Steph nodded in agreement.

Paul walked out and stood at the door with his arms crossed, glaring at Embry; Steph sped up her walking speed and leaned up to kiss his lips chastely. He kissed her back and squeezed her ass before smirking smugly at Embry who trudged inside with his head down.

"Don't do stuff like that Paul. It's not cool." Steph scolded as she pulled away from him with a frown; Paul gave her a lob sided smile.

"Relax babe, I was just showing the pup who you belong to." Steph's mouth dropped open.

"I am not a possession." He pulled her closer again.

"I know that, you're a woman. You're just… _my_ woman." Steph felt a shiver go down her spine; she moved her hands to her hips.

"Im not your woman… and you're a jerk." Paul's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish; Steph flipped her hair and walked inside, leaving him standing outside like a lemon.

"How are you today Emily?" Steph asked cheerfully as she sat down next to what she knew was her plate.

"Im fine. How was patrol?" Emily asked as she set down a glass of water; Steph picked it up and downed it in one gulp before tucking in to her lunch.

"So tiring!" She replied before continuing to eat; when she was done she moved into the kitchen and washed her dish. When she turned around, she realised that Paul wasn't inside so she peaked out of the door; he wasn't there either. Where the hell did he go? Steph wondered if she'd upset him with what she had said; the thought was unlikely though.

Steph walked back inside and caught sight of a very distraught looking Embry; she walked over to him and settled on his couch.

"Hey." She nudged him.

"Hey." He didn't take is eyes off of the television.

"Look, about what Paul said…" He cut her off mid-sentence.

"Don't worry about it Steph…" She cut _him _off this time.

"No, I will; you know why?... Because he was being a dick." She conceded; Embry smirked at her words and turned to her; looking right into her eyes as if he was searching for something.

She laughed nervously as if she could tell what he was thinking; he muttered something so low under his breath that she could barely hear her. She caught the word 'perfect' and put two and two together.

"But not the perfect girl _for you_… but you'll find her. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but I know you will." She told him; she couldn't promise him anything right now, since she had started phasing, her future dreams had stopped. All she knew was that he wasn't imprinting anytime soon. Steph smiled at him once more before getting up and leaving.

"Guys, im going down to Forks, see if I can get some shopping done." She left without another word.

Steph went home to change into something more casual before leaving again. She made her way through most of the shops picking up tanks, short sleeved tops, sweatpants and shorts. She thought she'd leave footwear for another time; her money was running out anyway. When she got home, she took her bags upstairs and unloaded them into her closet before flopping face down on the bed out of pure exhaustion.

"Steph?" A voice called from downstairs; her sleepy face popped up.

"In my bedroom!" She screamed unnecessarily before putting her face back down; her visitor sat on the bed next to her.

"What are you doing?" He chuckled; she smiled and turned over before stretching like a cat.

"Resting face down on my bed fully clothed. Nothing _weird_." She replied as she sat up and brushed her wayward hair out of her face.

"…Where did you disappear to earlier?" She asked him as she moved closer to him; he lifted her body easily and placed her on his lap before moving them further onto the bed.

"I had to go do something." He replied gruffly; she cocked an eye brow. Paul lifted her butt before removing something from his pocket; Steph gasped when she saw the little wooden wolf attached to a small silver chain and cache.

"Now, I was wondering if you would wear this… and become my first ever girlfriend." He asked her shyly; a single tear left her eye. His _first _girlfriend.

"You made this?" She asked as she examined it; he nodded his head shortly.

"It's beautiful….. But I can't accept it." She told him sadly as she pushed it back towards him; he looked sorta depressed so she continued.

"Those are for imprints only Paul, they're tradition." She told him what he already knew; he exhaled.

"But…." She cut him off.

"Please don't, okay?" She pleaded; he nodded sadly but refused to give up. He could feel it, somehow he just knew that he wasn't going to imprint. He felt that she was it for him.

Paul dug his hand into his other pocket and brought out a silver necklace with a large diamond incrusted P.

"…Well will you at least wear this?" He asked as he held it up for her to see; she gasped again, this wasn't the five dollar chizz she was used to. It was proper silver and those were proper diamonds. This must have cost him a fortune!

"It's beautiful…. Yes Paul, I'll be your girlfriend." She laughed; he smiled widely.

"Really?" Steph nodded brightly; he placed it around her neck before pulling back to growl proudly; his wolf liked seeing it on her. All that was left was to mark her…. Just not yet.

Her fingers intertwined in his hair as she pulled him in for a chaste kiss, he wanted more though. Paul brought her lips back to his and pushed his tongue into her mouth; she accepted it willingly and their mouths began to move together in perfect synchronisation.

Paul lifted her slightly and rolled them over so that she was on her back and he was settled on top of her between her long legs. Steph moaned in his mouth and wiggled her hips against him; Paul groaned into her mouth and began to thrust violently against her. If she were human, he probably would have broken her pelvis.

"Steph." He whispered as they broke the kiss for one second; she responded by pulling his mouth back to hers. Paul ground into her again once more until his eyes widened and he jumped up like something had bitten him.

"What? What is it?" She asked him as she sat up; he looked away and clenched his jaw.

"I promised I'd take it slow. Im sorry Steph…..." He felt ashamed; all his wolf wanted to do was hump her like the dog that it was. She cocked her head to the side at his response.

"…I just wanna show you that you're different. Im in this for you, not sex." He continued although he was going through an internal battle. His wolf was scolded him for stopping, It wanted to continue and claim her as his mate.

Steph stood up and walked towards him. She intertwined both of her hands with his and just stood with him. She knew that was what he needed right now, just some silence…

"I'll wait as long as you want." She said after a while as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other; Paul's nose rose to the sky before he broke out in a grin. Steph blushed and groaned.

"Please tell me you didn't do what I think you did." She said as she put her head down in embarrassment. He chuckled and used his index finger to lift her chin before placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"It kinda turns me on." He conceded with a shrug; Steph's red face grew darker.

"… so don't be embarrassed." He continued. They stayed quiet for a while,

"We've gotta go out tonight." He told her; she put her head up to look at him.

"Why?" She groaned.

"Because the elders wanna figure out what's up with us." Steph's eyes widened and she stepped away gingerly before turning around to the dressing table so she couldn't see him.

"Nothing's up with us Paul, we like each other. That's all." She tried; she didn't want to have to go to the meeting, only to be told that they couldn't date because they weren't imprints. Paul stepped behind her and pulled her into his hips while breathing into the crook her neck; she shivered instinctively.

"Are you sure about that Steph?... Because im not."

**Thoughts?  
So they're officially together. **

**Character pics on my page. **

**If you like this then check out my other stories **

**You know what to do, **

**If you don't, it's… REVIEW!**

**No flames please XD**


	13. meetings

**A.N. Hey guys, thanks for your awesome reviews of the last chapter. It makes me really happy XD**

Steph stifled her laughter as Paul set her down outside the Black residence. He kept her close to him, tucked under his large arm. Jacob came bounding out of the house; when he saw them his expression went from disgust when he looked at Paul, to pity when he saw Steph.

"Hey Jake." She said to him, in hope that he'd answer her; instead he just shook his head and got into the rabbit before making a hasty exit as if just _looking_ at them was a crime and he had to make a mad dash to the nearby church in order to confess his sins. Steph exhaled sadly.

"Don't worry about him babe; he'll be one of us soon." Paul told her as he nuzzled her neck from the back.

"I know." She whispered as they knocked on Billy Black's door; the old man opened it and the couple came tumbling in; all of the elders were present of course. Billy, Old Quil, Harry Clearwater and even Sam; Steph froze when she caught eyes with another man.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" She all but screamed; Paul could feel her becoming frustrated so his grip on her body tightened.

"Im part of the council remember?" Jamal replied, eyeing up Paul's filthy hands all over his nice clean daughter; then he saw the P necklace and growled quietly.

"Easy Jamal." Billy cautioned from his chair; Paul led Stephanie over to the only unoccupied seats in the room which just happened to be right in the middle; she grimaced.

"As you all know, we are all here to discuss the bond between these young wolves." Billy Black announced; a nervous Stephanie rested her head on Paul's shoulder who in turn kissed her forehead tenderly. Most of the elders were surprised; they were not used to seeing _Paul Meraz_ making such loving gestures. Usually, most of the things he said or did were terribly crude or vulgar.

"Paul, are you sure that she isn't your imprint?" Harry asked as he leaned forward in his chair; Paul looked down at Steph apologetically, she assured him with a nod.

"Yeah, im sure." Most of them nodded their heads.

"How do you know?" Old Quil asked as if Paul was an idiot; Steph shut her eyes and exhaled briefly in frustration.

"Because it didn't really start the first time I met her; plus it's nothing like how Sam's imprinting on Emily feels." Steph breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth.

"And how exactly _does_ it feel?" Billy asked; Paul looked over at Jamal before starting, he didn't know if Steph's dad really wanted to hear it.

"Im skipping this part." Jamal said as he stood up and left the room; Steph exhaled a breath, this meeting just became a whole lot easier. Paul slung his arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer.

"At first when I met her at the bonfire, she caught my eye and I thought she was the hottest girl I'd ever seen. Then when she phased, I started to think of her in other ways, the feeling intensified but only when I felt she was in danger or other males were touching her. Then yesterday when Call phased, it just blew up. Now I hate to be away from her, I wanna do everything I can to make her safe and happy.

Her scent drives me crazy. I just wanna grab her and claim her, mark her; make her mine. And if anyone who's a male tries to touch her now, _my wolf _goes insane and fucking territorial. It's like I can't see anything else but her and how she's not in my arms…. Man, I think im in love with her." Paul finished; Steph's eyes widened at the revelation. He said love…. As in love….love. She smiled and looked up at him. He leant down towards her and placed a kiss on her lips in confidence.

Sam rubbed his eyes and looked up at the couple again. _Oh_… maybe Paul really _did _say all that. The alpha had never heard him say anything so profound… _ever_.

"I love you too." Steph whispered back; Paul smiled proudly.

"That sounds like imprinting to me." Harry mentioned; Billy nodded his head and thought about it.

"Paul, tell me. Do you feel the need to mate or… _to make children_?" He asked uncomfortably, Steph's face fell temporarily. She knew that she probably wouldn't be able to have children; at least she thought so. Her monthly cycle had stopped as soon as she turned wolf.

"Just to mate." Paul said as he scratched the back of his head; he hadn't really thought about having children, but if it was a choice between them and Steph. He'd pick her every time.

"Have you mated?" Billy asked; the couple shook their heads.

"And why is that?" Billy continued; Steph blushed deep red.

"Because I wanna take it slow; but trust me when I say that it ain't easy." Paul said with a lob sided smirked; Sam almost choked on his own spit_. Paul? Paul Meraz wanted to take it slow?_ He expected Ashton Kutcher to jump out from behind the couch and tell him that he was being 'punk'd'.

"And Stephanie. Do you think you'll be able to have children?" Billy asked; hoping she'd get what he was asking; Paul squeezed her closer for support; she shook her head, unable to form the words as she clutched at her new necklace.

"No Billy." She answered; he nodded his head apologetically and tried to keep the pity from his features; the room was quiet for a few minutes as they each tried to come up with their own theories.

"But what if he imprints?" Old Quil asked, leave it up to him to bring up the glum future; Paul resisted the need to growl.

"I won't." He snapped then tried to rein it in; Steph squeezed his hand for more support.

"How can you be sure?" Old Quil retorted; Paul ground his teeth.

"Im sure because I can feel it…. I think, no im sure she's my mate. I know it and my wolf knows it." He answered; Steph grimaced slightly at his words…..but she would forgive him for he knew not of what he said.

"What if Paul _did_ imprint on Stephanie? After all, there has never been a female wolf before; it could just be a different variation of imprinting. Either way, they're definitely mated." Harry suggested; most of the elders nodded; even Paul seemed to relax a bit. But Steph was still apprehensive, she couldn't be his imprint; _Rachel _was.

She could imagine Paul's guilt ridden face now when he told her that he'd be leaving her for _Rachel Black_. It made her wonder if it was worth it….. Yeah, it still was. She didn't care if he'd leave her soon; she'd just enjoy the times that she had with him now. She'd enjoy being _Paul's girl_, wearing his necklace proudly; just loving him was okay for now. That's right she loved him... so much.

"Stephanie?" She jumped at the sound of her name.

"Huh?"

"You've been out for minutes babe, are you okay?" He asked worriedly; her eye brows furrowed, all of the elders were getting up to leave. How could she have missed it all?

"Yeah, im fine; I just really wanna get out of here." As soon as she spoke the last word; Paul had pulled her up into his arms so they were both standing.

"Where do you wanna go?" He asked as they walked out into the windy night air. She didn't even notice that Jamal was no longer there.

"I dunno, I just don't wanna go home." She told him as she clung to his body, she couldn't face her dad right now; Paul opened the truck door and she got in, exhaling loudly. She was glad to be out of there. Paul drove them to a place that she'd never seen before; it was a small secluded cottage much like Emily's – _minus all the flowers_.

"Where are we?" Steph asked as Paul got out of the car; she got out quickly before he could come round to let her out. He pouted playfully and she laughed at him.

"Seriously Paul, where are we?" She asked as he led her towards the house.

"We, my fair maiden are at Casa de Meraz." He told her as he unlocked his front door; Steph smiled brightly as he led her in.

His home was very bachelor esque; it was messy of course but she expected that. It also only held the bare essentials, which was of course until they reached the living room where she found a large flat screened plasma TV, DVD player, a Blu ray player, an Xbox with an Xbox kinect and a Play station 3. Not to mention two five foot DVD towers, one for his games and another for his Blu ray discs.

"Jesus Christ Paul, is there any modern entertainment system that you don't own?" She asked as she went to find him in the kitchen; he was standing in front of the fully stocked fridge, pulling random things out.

"I don't have a wii." He shrugged; Steph laughed and shook her head.

"So what do you think of it?" he asked as he moved his eyes around the room; Steph looked around thoughtfully.

"I think it needs a woman's touch." She finished; his eyes widened and a smile broke out on his face. Paul stalked towards her and stood so close that her nose was touching his wide muscled chest.

"I think so too… but not now. Your dad would kill me." He breathed; Steph nodded, he was too close, she couldn't think correctly. All she had now was Paul on the brain…..

"I love you." She blurted out before she could stop herself; his breathing stopped and she wondered what he'd do. Would he send her packing? His finger made their way under her chin and pushed her face up to his; his face was serious. She swallowed shakily.

"Stephanie Meyer, I love you too…so much." He answered; a single tear left her eye as she tiptoed and pushed her lips onto his in desperation. Paul hiked her up onto his waist; her legs wrapped around him as he carried her through the house and into his bedroom where he closed the door behind them as he laid them softly on the bed. Steph broke the kiss.

"I don't wanna take it slow." She pleaded; he smiled widely as his wolf began to take over. This was it; he was finally going to claim her. Steph could feel her own eyes darkening; her wolf was taking over too.

Paul thrust into her repeatedly and they both began to moan; he was trying to stay in control.

Paul growled as she broke the kiss to pull his shirt over his head; Steph purred at the sight of his muscled chest. He growled and just ripped her whole shirt off with one swipe then growled approvingly at what he saw.

Steph leaned up and began to unbutton his jeans knowing fully well that he went commando; he helped her out and pulled the pants all the way down to his ankles. Steph blinked twice in shock.

"Paul you're…" He cut her off with his lips on hers as he began to unbutton her pants and pulled them off in one smooth action. He stared in awe at her little pink cotton panties and smiled; she blushed and looked away. He brought her face back to his.

"You don't ever have to be embarrassed around me." He told her; she nodded as his lips were brought back to hers.

Paul began to draw a smooth line down from the middle of her breast to her stomach; Steph's legs parted instinctively and Paul moved his body in-between them; his arm reached out and he grabbed a small square foil packet from the top drawer of his bedside table.

"Are you sure about this Steph?" He asked; even though he didn't think he could stop now. Steph was about to speak when a car skidded to a stop outside the house and a pair of heavy footsteps bounded out before landing on four legs.

"Shit." Steph swore and Paul rolled off her and tried to get her some clothes. They heard a large bang as the wolf ran head first into the front door; Steph was terrified. Paul grabbed one of his tee shirts and stuffed it over her head while he tried to button up some cut-offs. She ran out of the room and into the living room where a jet back wolf stood heaving and snarling at her…...

**Thoughts?  
Ooo Steph's in trouble. **

**You know who the black wolf is don't yah?  
**

**You know what to do, **

**If you don't it's… REVIEW!**


	14. fighting

**A.N. Hey guys, so I'm here with the next chapter, I'm hoping you like it XD**

"Shit." Steph swore; Paul rolled off and tried to get her some clothes. They heard a large bang as the wolf ran head first into the front door; Steph was terrified. Paul grabbed one of his tee shirts and stuffed it over her head while he tried to button up his cut-offs. Steph ran out of the room and into the living room where a jet back wolf stood heaving and snarling at her.

Paul came out to her and pushed her behind him in a protective stance; the wolf snarled threateningly at him now.

"Stop it!" She screamed as tears leaked from her eyes; Jamal didn't listen, he just stood there and continued to growl, now he was foaming from the mouth like a savage beast. Paul pulled his head back a little,

"Whatever happens, don't phase." He ordered; she looked up at him questionably before he broke away from her and ran for the door before phasing in his front yard. Jamal turned and followed him outside. Steph followed closely behind just in time to see her dad throw her boyfriend into a tree, successfully breaking it in half, Steph shrieked; Paul whined lightly as he hit it but stood up like the dominant male he was. Steph could see that his back paw was injured and she felt it; she could actually feel his pain.

"STOP! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" She screeched; her dad didn't even look at her. He just charged towards Paul who stood like a lemon while he butted him into another tree with his muzzle. Steph shook her head as her hands fumbled to her neck; she removed her necklace and carefully tossed it onto his couch before exploding just like Paul told her not to.

_Stop!_ – Steph.

She was so mad, she couldn't control herself; she let out a pained howl to alert the rest of the pack before charging towards Jamal. Sam, Jared and Embry phased in but didn't say a word; they just ran towards the scene.

_Steph, stop_ – Paul.

Even his thinking voice was weak; Steph growled louder as she jumped on her dad dug her claws deep into his back. He whined loudly before falling to the ground.

_Fuck!_ – Jamal.

She ran to Paul's side and nudged him with her muzzle with a whine.

_Why didn't you fight back? _– Steph.

She could see his injuries, his leg was broken and something internal was wrong with his torso.

_I told you not to phase_ – Paul.

Steph lay down next to him and began to lick his face.

_You sunk your claws into my back to save him?_ – Jamal.

Her dad stood up and faced them; still snarling.

_Move aside Stephanie_ – Jamal.

Steph stood and snarled back at him; he stepped back in shock.

_Leave us alone_ – Steph.

_Steph, stop_ – Paul. He was holding on to this form; he was too weak, sooner or later he'd phase back involuntarily.

_No_ – Steph.

She growled at her dad. The rest of the pack arrived.

_You need to relax Jamal_ – Sam.

Embry teetered to Steph's side and stood with her; he licked her muzzle for support. Paul snarled and tried to bite his ankles.

_She went home with him Sam… and they were gonna…_ - Jamal.

He couldn't even finish the sentence; anger took over his body again and he tried to lunge at Paul.

_Stop it! – _Sam.

Jamal showed the rest of the pack what had happened.

After walking out of the meeting he sat outside for some air, he realised that he could still partially hear what was going on so he went for a drive. By the time he returned, the meeting was over so he thought he'd go home…. But when he got there, Steph was nowhere to be found.

So he got back in his car and just thought for a moment; one thing came to his mind one too many times. She couldn't have gone home with him, could she? No, his daughter wasn't _that_ irresponsible. By the time he snapped out of it, he found himself driving towards Paul's house; he wished he was wrong.

As soon as he opened the car door, the moans and groans coming from the house flipped his lid and that was it. Anger boiled in him again as he lunged for Paul once more.

_You son of a bitch_ – Jamal

He snapped at Sam and desperately tried to bypass him only to be blocked by Jared.

_Jamal you have to calm down_ – Sam

_Shut up!_ – Jamal

He lunged again; Steph whined and moved closer to Paul. She couldn't understand why her dad was doing all this; why did he want to hurt them _so_ much?

_Im sorry to do this…__** Jamal, just phase out**_– Sam

Steph looked away as Sam, Embry and Jared phased back too and carried her dad away into the forest. She let out a breath and turned to Paul; he was human now; she whined and lowered her back.

"Baby, im fine. I jus…" Stephanie cut him off with a low growl, there was no use in arguing; she nudged his feet towards her back.

He grumbled before standing up tall and winced slightly when he put weight on his right foot; she tripped his left so he fell face first into her fur; she made sure he was on before trotting slowly towards the house, gently stepping over his front door which was now on the floor and into his bedroom where she laid him down carefully.

Paul grunted as he hit the bed. Steph phased back and began to cry into his large body hysterically; he hiked her up onto the bed and just let the tears fall, he knew that she needed it.

"I-Im so s-sorry." She sobbed; he exhaled loudly and pulled his light duvet from under them, throwing it over their unclothed bodies; he grunted as he leaned over, that hit in the gut with the tree was taking its tow and his leg hurt like a bitch. At least his super-healing would set in soon.

"It's not your fault babe." He told her; she seized crying immediately and sat up, using the sheet to cover her naked torso much to Paul's disappointment.

"Why weren't you protecting yourself?" She got up and searched through his closet for something to wear; she burrowed a dark blue tee shirt and just put her jeans on the bottom.

"Well?" Her voice was irritate, she hated to have to wait for answers; Paul stayed silent and looked elsewhere.

"God Damn it Paul! Speak to me!" She cried as she threw a piece of clothing at his head; of course he caught it mid-way then his eyes flew to hers.

"I deserved it, okay? I took the beating because I fucking deserved it." Steph exhaled a breath.

"…But your dad didn't deserve what you gave him." He continued; Steph shifted her weight.

"I was trying to protect you since you weren't doing anything…. Don't change the subject! Tell me why you deserved it!" She demanded.

"Because we almostfucked, okay? I said we were gonna wait and I went back on my words; it shouldn't have happened so I deserve _more_ than the beating I got." Steph's body stiffened at his words. _Was he saying he regretted it?_ It was silent in the room; Steph kept her eyes on her twiddling toes.

"Do you have a screw driver?" Paul looked up at her with an eye brow cocked; he was expecting some sort of shouting.

"Yeah, s'in the kitchen cupboard, why?" She left the room without another word and searched the kitchen for the tool; when she found it, she began to try and get the door back on its hinges. Luckily, her dad hadn't _destroyed_ any of the metal or wood so it made her job quite easy.

When she was done, she sat down on Paul's couch in silence and brought her knees to her chest in an attempt to feel. She rarely felt anything without him now, though; she was in way too deep.

Paul limped from the bedroom and hovered in the living room doorway; his eyes burned holes into the back of the couch.

"You shouldn't be walking on it." Steph called; he hobbled over to the couch where he sat beside her. His hand reached out to her but she shrunk away from his touch; his jaw clenched tightly.

"Do you regret it Paul?" Her voice was fatigued and fragile; his eyes widened, he didn't realise that he had offended her.

"No baby, I could never regret anything I've done with you." He told her seriously; Steph raised her eyes to his for the first time.

"Then why did you stay that it shouldn't have happened?" He exhaled before kneeling down in front of her; she tried to stop him but he would have it.

"Stephanie, I didn't mean what you think I did, okay? I just meant that I shouldn't have taken advantage like that." He answered her; she looked up at him with narrowed eyes.

"Don't you get it? Im not a child, you weren't _taking advantage_ of me. I wanted it… and to hear you say that it shouldn't have happened… hurt." Her voice broke on the last word; Paul swore under his breath and took hold of her hand.

"Stephanie, im sorry; I didn't realise that I made you feel that way. Im sorry." He told her; Steph laughed and ran her fingers through his short hair.

"It's okay." She whispered; she pulled him onto the couch with her.

"How's your leg?" She asked him; he smiled at her concern.

"Its fine babe, you don't have to worry about me; that's_ my_ job." Steph laughed as she got off the couch and walked into his kitchen; she wondered where he got the money for all of these things.

So she asked…

"Paul?" She called as she removed some cooked chicken and rice from the fridge, put it in a bowl and placed it in the microwave.

"Yeah, babe." He answered her.

"Where do you get the money for all this stuff?" She asked as she looked around the room.

"I have a job." He shrugged; her mouth fell open. He had never spoken about it with her.

"How do you have a job? When do you work? Where do you work?" She asked him; this was the first she'd heard of it. Paul chuckled at her expression.

"Well, you know the new houses they're building down near the edge of the Rez?" Stephanie thought back.

"Yeah." She answered.

"Well, I've been building it… along with loads of other guys." Steph smiled brightly; she had a man _and_ he had a job.

"I usually work during the day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays but I've been off for the last three weeks…" He trailed off.

"…Because of me." She finished for him; he was skipping work just to look after her.

"But I'm going back next Monday." He told her; her face fell slightly.

"Right." She answered simply; Paul wished that he could stay with her twenty four seven… but he couldn't if he wanted to provide for her. Shit, he was already thinking about _providing_. He was seriously whipped.

Steph removed the food from the microwave and placed it on his small table; she walked through to help him but he held his hand up.

"Im fine babe…. Don't fuss." He laughed as he got up with a grunt and stood tall as he walked over to the table. She smiled at him; he was so brave. She walked after him when she remembered something and turned to the second couch where her necklace lay peacefully.

She smiled again as she picked it up and placed it back around her neck. When she walked through to the kitchen Paul noticed that she was wearing it; he smiled proudly and got an idea. Steph saw the thoughtful look in his eyes,

"What?" She asked him; he shook his head.

"Nothing." He answered her; she nodded suspiciously and sat down in the seat next to him. She wasn't exactly sure what to do next.

"Aren't you hungry?" He asked as he shovelled more food into his mouth; she shook her head. He put his fork down.

"You sure? There's plenty of food." He offered; she shook her head again.

"Where do you get it anyway?" She asked him; he smiled.

"Some of it's from Emily but I cook the rest." He replied; her eyes widened.

"You can cook? Seriously?" She asked incredulously; he laughed.

"Don't sound so surprised." She laughed this time.

"Well at least _you_ can cook…" She told him; his eyes rose.

"Toast is as far as it goes for me." Se told him; he shook his head in disbelief. Sadly, she was actually telling the truth.

"That's okay, I can cook for you." He told her; she smiled in response. Paul finished his dinner and she tried to take his bowl from him but he refused. She growled and stole it back,

"You cooked, the least I can do is the dishes."

**Thoughts?  
So Jamal attacked Paul huh?  
I bet you didn't expect that. **

**I know I didn't. Lol. **

**Got loads of character pics on my page if you wanna check those out. **

**Also, three other stories. **

**You know what to do, **

**If you like, then… REVIEW!**

**No flames please. **


	15. why me?

**A.N. Hey guys, here's the next chapter. There's a ****BIG time skip here so don't be surprised. **

It was a warm afternoon in La Push so most of the pack except for Sam and Jacob were hanging at the cliffs; they'd finished jumping so now they were just chilling with a picnic that Emily had given them, playing random games; they started with truth, then moved on to truth or dare. Now they were onto 'would you rather'. Steph sighed and leaned back into Paul's chest. His chin rested on her shoulder and arms around her waist.

"Ok Paul, Trish Walker or Tami Spence?" Jared asked, Steph immediately grimaced at the picture in her head; she could still remember her second day of school when she had met both girls. _Bitches. _

Paul squeezed her sides; she nodded into his embrace as a go ahead. She didn't mind him talking about other girls; he had been with her for the last six months and that wasn't gonna change… for a while.

"Tami." He answered simply; he wasn't comfortable about answering questions like this anymore; it just didn't feel right.

Quil looked at him like he was crazy… yes Quil. It had been a week since he had joined that pack, his arrival had been_ interesting_. Steph had known that he would be excited about the concept… but not to this degree.

He even had a stupid dance that he did once he phased back to human the first time… which by the way took three days to happen. Yep, Steph still held the record for the fastest phase. She was proud.

"Seriously?" Quil asked incredulously; Steph felt Paul nod behind her as she stole one of Paul's chips when he wasn't looking. Not that he would have minded anyway.

"But Trish is hotter." Embry argued while he tried to keep his eyes off the couple in front of him; no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get Steph out of his head.

Consequentially, his uncontrollable thoughts were the catalyst to the last five fist fights that he had partaken in with Paul; yeah, those were not pretty…. _At all_. The only good thing that had come from them was that they now know that werewolf teeth can be both reinserted _and_ grown back.

"No, she isn't." Paul grimaced with a secretive undertone to his voice; Steph's eye brows furrowed and she looked up at his guilty face.

"Oh shit, you've been there haven't you?" Quil laughed; Paul swallowed thickly and looked down at Stephanie apologetically. She leaned up and pecked his lips reassuringly; he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He looked back up to find Jared staring at him with an eye brow raised.  
"What?"

"You're whipped man that's _what_; a year ago you would have given us a play by play." He laughed; Paul's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah im whipped; this is coming from the guy who won't let his girl go to the bathroom by herself." The rest of the guys chuckled.

"Alright, alright. Paul, your turn to ask Embry." Steph laughed, trying to get the game back on track.

"Ok_ Embry_, Leanne Hyatt or… Bella Swan?" Most of the pack drew their heads back in disgust.

"You better not let Jake hear you talking about her." Quil warned; they knew how 'explosive' Jake could be about her these days. Ever since her leech had come back he'd been nothing short of angry. It was sad really. The worst part for Steph was knowing that his heart ache was nowhere near over so she couldn't help him through it. Not like he'd let anyone anyway. Too stubborn.

"Why not? I don't know why he's so whipped on the leech lover, anyway." Paul grumbled; he'd never liked Bella. To him, she was just the biggest trouble maker out there.

"Hey! A little necrophilia never killed anyone." Steph joked; the pack erupted in laughter that lasted for about a minute before the actually _Bella Swan_ discussion began. Steph just rolled her eyes as she listened to them; they were always doing this.

There was Quil and Embry who were undeniably team Bella, Paul and Jared who were team 'no one cares, just move on' and Steph who was, as she had so ironically put it, 'team Switzerland.'

"Who's Leanne?" Steph asked, trying to change the subject again; Quil let out a burst of laughter.

"You remember your second day of school? Well she was the one you sat next to in math." He revealed; she shivered instinctively. The girl with the hair crawlers; what was with that?

"Bella. Definitely Bella." Embry chose while scratching at his head; you just couldn't not scratch or shiver when you thought of her.

"….Quil, Janie Richards or Qahla…" Embry was cut off by a howl that ripped through the sky; Steph smiled evilly then looked around to see if anyone was looking – they weren't.

"What the hell do they want now?" Paul grunted as they all stood up and started on a quick jog towards the forest.

"I don't think its Sam, didn't you hear that howl? That didn't sound like him _or_ Jacob." Steph stated as they reached the tree line; she was giving them clues without being obvious.

They all stripped of the little clothing they had and phased in; just as Steph had thought, not one but_ two_ panicked voices entered their heads.

-000-

"Go and talk to her." Embry whisper-shouted as he nodded his head towards the front door; of course Leah and Seth were outside. She wouldn't step one foot into Emily's house but Sam had ordered her not to go anywhere. Naturally Seth wouldn't leave his sister's side. It had been six hours since they had phased for the first time and one hour since they had both been human. Everyone was tired; they just wanted to go home and_ not_ deal with the drama queen.

"Why me?" Steph whined; she didn't want to talk to the dragon lady. If Leah was anything like she was in Twilight, then the girl could piss a happy meal off.

"Because you're the only girl." Embry replied like it was obvious; _damn it_ that _was_ a good reason.

"What do I say to her?" She asked; the boy stared at her and blinked twice. They didn't have a clue.

"Talk about her father or something." All the eyes in the room flew to Quil's and narrowed; trust him to come up with the stupid idea. Steph ground her teeth.

"What do you want me to say Quil? 'Sorry you lost your dad, here's one I made earlier'." She asked incredulously; he looked down, ashamed. Some of the others just shook their heads at him.

"Ok, I'll go." She huffed before running her hand through her short hair; Paul stood and engulfed her from the back. Her body melted into his embrace and she sighed. She turned in his arms and kissed his lips chastely before walking through to the kitchen.

Emily was standing in there with Sam, her face was sad but she wasn't crying; Steph didn't want to disturb them but she had to if her plan was going to work. She quickly tiptoed around them even though she knew that they could both hear and see her; she didn't say a word as she retrieved the scissors from the drawer and stuffed it into the back of her shorts.

"….. Mind if I sit?" She asked them; Seth looked up at her and smiled brightly; Leah of course did nothing. Steph settled beside them in silence. What the hell was she going to say?

"You can go inside Seth, I know you're hungry." Leah's voice held no emotion; it was empty and monotone.

"But…" She cut him off.

"Go inside, I'll be in soon." She reassured; his eyes widened and so did Steph's._ Leah_ was willing to go into_ Emily's_ house. Seth stood and smiled over at her.

"Bye Steph." He sang joyfully (as he always was) and ran into the house.

She smiled under her breath as she snuck a peek at the older girl; she was just as Steph had dreamt... but then again who wasn't? The only thing that was different was the long sleek black hair that ran down her back, all the way to her butt.

It was definitely her best feature, at that moment; she could understand Leah just a little bit more. She knew how distraught she had been after Sam ordered her to cut her hair off; luckily for her she was handy with scissors so she didn't cut her hair in a straight line. It was layered and choppy.

"These your threads?" Leah asked as she looked down at the black tank top and short shorts she was wearing; Steph's eyes widened. She wasn't even expecting her to speak. This was a pleasant revelation.

"Yeah, you can keep em'… and I got more you can use for now. Us wolf girls have gotta stick together." She grunted as she nudged her, she saw Leah smile under her breath but it only lasted a moment.

"Thanks." She answered sincerely as she ran her right hand through her hair and grimaced.

"You're gonna have to cut it." Steph told her; it was better hearing it from her than _Sam_; Leah squeezed her eyes shut and exhaled.

"I don't have to do shit that _he_ says." She answered through gritted teeth; Steph said nothing. Leah looked up at her and searched her eyes.

"You won't get my pity Leah." Steph said like she had read the older girl's mind; the corners of Leah's lips twitched upwards.

"Good." The girls sat in silence for a while.

"Trust me when I say that it's not comfortable, you know running with the long hair. I had hair just like you a few months ago, I miss it but it just gets in the way." She offered; Leah grunted in response. Steph noted that she did that a lot.

"May I?" She asked as she pulled the scissors form her back pocket; Leah stared at it with wide eyes with watery rims.

"You'll still be beautiful Leah." She offered; it was the truth. Leah actually smiled this time; no one had referred to her as 'beautiful' for a long time. Ever since she'd began to wear her permanent scowl a year ago. She nodded weakly.

Steph stood up and kneeled down behind Leah before playing around with her hair, trying to think of a style that would suit her.

"How do you feel about bangs?"

"Uum they're okay I guess." Steph smiled.

"It'll look great I promise." She reassured; she used her fingers to part the hair a third away from the back. She threw the majority portion of hair over Leah's face.

"You seem like a badass to me so I'm giving you some layers." Leah laughed in response. Steph took section by section and began snipping; hair fell around Leah's face and onto the floor. Three quarters of the way through she changed her position and moved to the front, combing the hair over one her face before cutting again. When she was down, she stepped back and smiled at her work.

"It's perfect." She mused; Leah's hair fell smoothly, the longest layer hitting her collar bone just like Steph's. Her wavy bangs framed her face on either side of her middle parting; they brushed shyly over her high cheek bones. Leah looked around and scratched the back of her neck.

"There's a mirror in the bathroom." Steph offered, not knowing how Leah would react. She turned back and looked over the house but her feet didn't move. They stood planted where they were.

**Thoughts?  
Aww, looks like Leah isn't all that bad. She's just a bitch when it comes to guys. **

**Got loads of character pics on my page if you wanna check those out. **

**Also, three other stories. **

**You know what to do, **

**If you like, then… REVIEW!**

**No flames please. **


	16. foodage

**Hey guys, I'm sorry I haven't updated this for a while; I'm recovering from severe writer's block :-P**

Steph stepped forward and held her hand out towards her; Leah took it gingerly and allowed Steph to lead her into the house. The whole room went quiet as they walked in; no one was expecting Leah to actually come inside. The pack was now littered around the dining room eating anything and everything they could get their hands on.

Steph lead Leah over to the empty seat next to Paul while she settled on his lap; he nuzzled her neck and purred quietly so no one else could hear. She sighed and laid her head on his wide chest.

"Hey Leah… your hair looks nice." She felt Paul's chest rumble as he spoke; Leah turned to him with a glare that could wither plants. He held his hands up in surrender but said nothing. Steph chuckled…. there goes the polite Leah.

Sam looked over at Leah with a sad expression; she didn't squirm under his stare.

"What?" She snapped; his eyes narrowed then softened. The rest of the guys in the room looked away, he was alpha; she wasn't supposed to talk to him like that. Sam sighed and wiped his hand over his face before speaking,

"There's a bonfire tonight at seven in honor of Seth and Leah's arrival to the pack. Everyone should be there, well everyone except Jared and Quil who have patrol." He said simply; the guys took it as a cue to leave.

"Seth and Leah. You can stay over for a few days while you work on control." He grunted; Leah shot out of her seat and left the house. She'd rather sleep in the forest than in a house with the bane of her existence. _Samuel Uley_. Oh let's not forget her backstabber of a cousin_ Emily Young. _

Steph looked up at Emily who was silently washing the dishes, staying strong as always and refusing to be a victim in her own home. Then her gaze shifted to Sam, he looked slightly torn, hurt even. Paul was the object of her gaze now, she pleaded with her eyes. He looked down at her like she was crazy.

"Please." She whispered; he looked away and scratched the back of his neck.

"Pretty please." She pleaded further as she pressed her body against his; he exhaled through his nose and looked down to her.

"Only for a few days." She told him as she placed small kisses on his naked chest; she looked up with doe eyes and he cursed under his breath.

"Ok fine but only for a few days." He grunted; she smiled and ran from the house to find Leah. Steph lifted her nose to the sky and sniffed; she followed the scent in a fast jog. She stepped over material that she realized were Leah's shredded clothing. Amateur.

Steph pulled her dress over her head and phased.

_Leah! Where are you going?_ – Steph

_I don't care! Im not staying in a house __with the bitch and the bastard._– Leah

Steph ran harder, Leah was leaving La Push and fast; she couldn't let her cross into Cullen territory.

_Lee, you've gotta stop; you're gonna pass into Cullen territory. __If you do that you'll start a war!_ – Steph warned.

Leah stopped immediately; her nose was burning.

_What the hell is that __stench?_ – Leah

Steph barked out a laugh as she approached Leah's stationary form slowly.

_That my friend, is that smell of vampires_ – Steph

_Oh…well __they stink_ – Leah grumbled as she turned and nudged Steph with her muzzle. Together they strolled their way back towards Sam's.

_You can stay with Paul and me_- Steph offered

_Seriously?_ – Leah

_Yeah, Paul said it was okay; you know, until you get your phasing under control_ – Steph

_Thanks _– Leah answered sincerely.

_It's fine. Like I said, us wolf girls have to stick together_ – Steph.

The girls approached Paul's house; he wasn't home yet. Probably still over at Sam and Emily's; Steph phased and put her clothes on before running inside to get Leah something. She quickly picked out a blue dress and jogged back out. The grey wolf let out a prolonged whine; Steph tapped her foot on the floor impatiently.

"I know okay but I just grabbed it and ran…." She apologized as she tried to put it in her mouth; Leah stepped back and whined again before turning towards the house.

"No, im not going to get something else, it's just a dress. Man up!" Steph laughed; Leah growled loudly before snatching it away and phasing right there. Steph averted her eyes as the older girl got dressed.

"I hate dresses." She grumbled as she put it on; Steph thought she looked pretty cute.

"It looks fine, the house is right there anyway so you can just pick some clothes." They started towards the cottage.

"Thanks again for letting me stay, you didn't have to."

"It's fine; don't worry about it… hungry?" Steph asked as she pulled out four leftover containers from the microwave; it was actually a rhetorical question.

"Here." She breathed as she handed Leah a plate towered with food; she mumbled a thank-you and immediately dug in. Damn she was hungry. She shoveled some fish in her mouth then froze. She swallowed thickly.

"My dad used to make salmon just like this." She offered; Steph cleared her throat nervously. She wasn't about to tell her that Emily had cooked it.

"Im sorry about Harry; he was a great man." She breathed as she sat down at the table with a bag of chips; Leah looked up and smiled weakly.

"Yeah he was." Steph nodded weakly as guilt washed over her body like a wave; she still thought about the day he had died. It was about a month ago now, they were chasing Victoria when it all went down. He had a heart attack right there in his own living room; Steph wasn't sure how she could have stopped it but she felt guilty none the less.

"So what the deal with_ your _dad?" Her eyes snapped up to Leah's.

"Your dad's Jamal Meyer right?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah."

"So what's the deal? How come he let's you stay with Paul? You're like sixteen, right?" Steph shifted uncomfortably in her seat; she wasn't sure she wanted to speak about it.

"I'm seventeen now." She justified; Leah raised an eye brow so she continued.

"Me and my dad." She admitted. "…We don't really talk too much, haven't for six months now."

"Why?" Leah asked bluntly; Steph cleared her throat.

"He doesn't agree with my relationship with Paul." She admitted; Leah finished her plate and got up to go to the sink.

"That's it? That's why you don't speak to your own dad? Because of_ him_?" Leah just didn't get it.

"It wasn't that simple, he thinks I'm wasting my time because one day, sooner or later, Paul's gonna get up and eve me whether he likes it or not." She replied awkwardly; Leah's eye brows furrowed. Steph had forgotten that the younger wolf wasn't aware of imprinting yet. She wasn't sure whether to tell her now or let her find out later.

"What about your mom?" Steph smiled a little.

"Me and mom are cool; she doesn't mind Paul….. In fact I think she actually likes him; she comes around about once a week, bearing foodage." Leah raised and eye brow.

"_Foodage_?" Steph shrugged her shoulders.

"Foodage just means food….come on Leah keep up." She laughed; Leah rolled her eyes then shook her head.

-0000-

Leah sat on Paul and Steph's bed watching the younger girl sort through her overflowing wardrobe for extra clothes.

"How about this Lee?" She asked as she held up a black halter neck dress with white trimmings; Leah grimaced.

"Oh come on, dresses are much easier than a tank and top. You can get them on and off in like a second." Steph argued; Leah just huffed.

"Well, you can wear it to the bonfire. We're about the same size anyway." She shrugged as she handed it to her; Leah looked over sat the time. Six thirty. They were supposed to be leaving soon.

"Babe!" Steph's eyes widened as she ran from the bedroom and down the hallway; Paul walked towards her with a lob sided grin. She jumped into his arms and locked her heels just above his ass; he pushed his lips onto hers.

"I missed you." She told him as he lowered them onto the couch so she was straddling his waist.

"Missed you too." He mumbled into her mouth as he turned them over so he was on top; his wolf could only be non-dominant for so long. Her hand tangled in his hair while his trailed down her body until they reached the hem of her dress; she laughed and stopped him.

"We can't." She breathed; he growled loudly and tried again. She giggled and stopped him again.

"Leah's in the other room." That didn't deter him.

"Then we give her a show." He grunted pleadingly.

"Later." She answered firmly as she pecked his lips before slithering out from under him.

"Leah?" She called; the older girl appeared in the doorway with a hint of a blush on her face. Well this was uncomfortable; she would have to get used to these new senses.

"We should probably leave now." Steph stated awkwardly and then they did.

**Thoughts?**

**Yeah, there wasn't much in this chapter but yeah XD**

**Next chapter's the bonfire.  
**

**Character pics on my page. **

**Check out my other stories. **

**If you like please REVIEW!**


	17. dangling from a string

**A.N. Hey guys, I hope you like this chapter; it's a little longer than usual but I wanted to get an insight into Jacob's relationship with Stephanie**.

"Leave her." Paul pleaded as he held Steph by the arm while she tried to follow Leah; the rest of the pack and elders at the bon fire looked kind of distraught at how the newest female wolf had taken the imprinting tales. Steph leant down and pecked his lips before smiling sadly.

"I can't Paul, Leah needs someone right now." She told him as she ran off into the night; Steph reached the tree line and phased; there were no voices in her head which meant that Leah was human for now.

She took advantage of her lupine nose and sniffed her out; Clearwater was sitting alone in a not-so-green field, glaring up at the sky like _it_ had wronged her; there were tear tracks on her beautiful face and her fists were clenched tight and were slowly burrowing their way into the soft earth beneath. Steph approached her carefully and slowly to avoid further conflict.

"I wanna be left alone." Leah called without moving; Steph's wolf whined quietly and her tongue flopped out of her mouth.

"I mean it." Leah growled in a threatening voice; Steph whined again, this time it was softer, she sat down next to the younger wolf and placed her paw lightly on her shoulder. That did it, Leah burst into hysterical sobs and clutched onto Steph's fur tightly; the wolf lay down, moulding herself around Leah's' body, allowing her to simply cry. Thirty minutes later, Leah's breath steadied and the once wailing sound was replaced with a sniffle every minute or so.

Steph knew that she was asleep, it wasn't unnatural; all wolves were tired on their first day. She looked behind her to see Leah's body draped over hers; she slowly stood, wiggling a little to make sure that Leah's body was fully on her back before trotting slowly towards her home.

Steph looked back at the sleeping woman on her back a few times; she was much more complex than how she was perceived, she wasn't a bitch like many would soon to believe. She was hurt, that was all, the sorrow she had felt had branded her soul; she needed someone with her, to help her through her sorrows. Someone in the same situation.

Steph was honoured to be that person; that one person who Leah didn't see as an enemy. For once, she wished that her books were not so _Bella Swan_ orientated, she wished that they were closer to home; closer to La Push where the people here mattered to her. They mattered so much. What was so special about_ Bella _anyway? Why was the world so _Swan_ orientated? There really had to be _something_ special about her; the way things unfolded around her just wasn't natural.

The love, the friends, the family, the enemies; it was all too much for one teenage girl. No wonder, she chose Edward, she was probably just confused about all that was going on. Steph grinned at that one. She approached the front door and Paul opened it with a smirk then he frowned when he saw Leah on her back; Steph rolled her eyes and bypassed him, her large body bending as she went through the front door so she wouldn't hit Leah's head on the frame.

She moved swiftly through the house and laid the younger wolf carefully on the spare room bed before phasing back and closing the door behind her; Paul caught her in the hallway before she could put her clothes on; so here she was, standing naked before him. His eyes raked down her body hungrily and he ground his body into hers. Steph gasped sensually before coming to her senses and pushing him away.

"No, not here, Leah's asleep." She giggled softly; before she knew it, she was hiked up over Paul's shoulder. She squeaked as he slapped her butt before sprinting across the hall and into their bedroom.

He put her down gently onto the bed; she blushed a little at how exposed she felt. He growled when she tried to cover herself up and she immediately stopped; why was she doing that anyway? It wasn't like he hadn't seen her naked before; in fact, he nearly _always _saw her naked. Paul kneeled onto the bed, causing it to croak a little before stalking over; hovering just above her. She spread he legs and he lay in between them; his hand roamed her body, squeezing and rubbing until she was squirming under him.

She groaned audibly and then blushed and froze; Paul immediately stopped what he was doing and looked at her with curious eyes.

"What if Leah hears something?" She asked quietly; now that would be awkward.

"So what if she hears something, she's in _our_ house remember." Paul mumbled as he began to kiss and nibble at her neck and chest, coaxing her back into what he wanted.

Steph stopped his hands again.

"No way, Paul." She warned, as much as she wanted this, she couldn't take the risk; another fact that was preventing her from playing Paul's games was that Leah was young, so very young, she couldn't control her thoughts, her brain would be like a sieve to the rest of the pack. She could imagine it now, Quil would be asking if she wanted to take a ride on his disco stick, Jared wouldn't be bothered, they all knew what he and Kim did when he occasionally let his thoughts slip; Sam would tell them to put a lid on that shit, Jacob would be indifferent and Embry would be depressed as hell for god knows how long.

Paul's eyes narrowed and she knew that he was regretting letting Leah stay.

"So what? No sex until she's gone?" He asked in an outraged voice; Steph nodded her head.

"Exactly." She told him as she got up to get some clothes; she pulled on his t-shirt and got back into their bed. Paul stood and walked out of the room like a man on a mission; Steph laid there confused until she realised that his footsteps were walking towards Leah's room. He had a smirk on his face; he needed this bitch to get the fuck out so that he could get some.

She sprung out of bed and ran after him; stopping Paul just before he could touch the door knob. Steph pushed and shoved him to get him to move but he was just that much stronger and that much bigger than her; it would never work, not in human form anyway. Steph tiptoed and pressed her lips to his; her hands on either side of his handsome face.

Paul responded immediately and placed both hands on each of her butt cheeks before hoisting her up onto his waist. She ground herself onto him. This was the only way she could get him back to where she wanted him.

"Bedroom." She mumbled; he complied quickly, running eagerly to their room, closing the door with his foot and lowering them to the bed carefully.

-ooo-

"Morning!... Geeze, it fucking reeks of sex in here!" Steph's eyes opened with a snap and she sat up too quickly; well, sat up as much as she could with Paul's giant arm draped across her middle. Her eyes squinted shut in pain; La Push had picked today to actually have sunshine.

"Quil! She screeched angrily; for some reason, he thought she was calling him and decided to stroll down to their room. At least, that would be the official story; he really just wanted to see if he could catch some skin. He had the major hots for Paul's mate.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry." Quil stated dramatically as he stumbled in on just what he wanted to see; Steph sat up in their bed with no top on; she gasped and covered her chest.

"Get the fuck out, you pervert." She growled but he didn't go anywhere.

"No can do princess, I'm enjoying the view way too much." He admitted; she began to shake and that caused Paul to wake with a start; his eyes focused on a _male_ in their _bedroom_ where he had claimed his mate on a regular basis. This shit was serious.

Paul's head cocked to the side as he growled, removing himself from the bed; the male was fleeing the scene of the crime. He shook his head and opened his eyes again as he chased after the figure; this couldn't be Quil could it? No, he couldn't be_ that_ stupid. Paul phased as soon as he hit the outside air and was hot on his tail; his mind was assaulted with a permanent picture of Stephanie's breasts.

_I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry_– Quil squealed as Paul gained on him and began to bite at his ankles.

_It's cool, I can make you fucking forget it _– Paul threatened as he pounced on him.

Steph yawned as she got out of bed and went straight to the shower; she didn't even bother trying to find her boyfriend, she knew he was out kicking ass. Preferably Quil's ass. When she finished, she went back to her bedroom and put on a knee length black dress; once she got to the kitchen, she made herself a full bowl of oatmeal, some toast and eggs. She ate and made her way back down the hallway, peaking into Leah's room; the girl must have been knackered because she was still fast asleep.

Stephanie made her way back through to the living room and began to air out the house; opening all of the windows and doors in a desperate attempt to get rid of the sex smell. She liked it of course, she knew Paul liked it but she just couldn't be bothered to listen to the shit she'd get from the pack.

When she was done, she jumped on the couch before turning the TV on and watching really old re-runs of friends; footsteps reached her porch and her head sprang up again a figure appeared in the doorway and she waved absentmindedly. He bypassed her and went to the kitchen before returning with four bags of chips and some popcorn; then he came over to her and plonked his body on the couch; she lifted her legs and rested her feet on his thighs just like she always did.

"How is it going?" She asked him; he tried to smile but it just wasn't natural, there was something sad and forced about it.

"Not bad." He lied; she lifted an eye brow.

"You know I can always tell when you lie, Jake, I'm your sister remember." She reminded him; he smirked this time.

"Ok, so it's suckish." He admitted; she laughed at his choice of words.

"Bella trouble?" She guessed as she leaned back further in the couch.

"You can't have trouble with someone you don't talk you." He told her; she nodded her head defiantly.

"Yes you can…. I don't understand why you don't just talk to her; it's obvious that you miss her, _much to my discomfort_." She added the end quietly. He raised an eye brow at her.

"Ok fine, so maybe I don't like her too much." Steph admitted; Jacob's eyes narrowed a little.

"Why? Because Paul doesn't like her?" He sneered; he was always so defensive about his precious Swan but Stephanie had nothing but patience for him.

"Nope, I just don't like her; I don't like the way she treats you." She shrugged; his eyes narrowed further, now they were little slits.

"Why does everyone keep saying that? How exactly does she treat me? Huh? She treats me like her best friend and that's exactly what I am." He justified; Steph shook her head at how blind this dude was.

"She keeps you dangling from a string, Jake." She enlightened him; he would always come over here to have these conversations with her; she'd mention Bella, they'd fight about Bella and somehow it always ended in Steph getting something from him. It was odd, it was like he enjoyed their squabbles, and it was just their thing.

"No she doesn't, she just doesn't know what she wants." Jacob defending Bella? Well that's never before seen behaviour…. Not.

"Oh please Jake, you deserve better." Steph told him like it was nothing, ignoring the slight shake through his body.

"You don't know what you're saying, she's perfect. Bella's smart, funny, beautiful, she doesn't take shit from anyone, I mean, you saw the way she slapped Paul….." Steph barked out a laugh, ah the slap, that was entertaining to say the least. Although, she had never expected that her wolf would get over-protective of him and they'd both fursplode in front of a shaking Bella forcing her into an almost comatose state of shock for a few hours. They had to run double patrols for three weeks because of that one slip up.

Steph's mind was cast back to reality to see that Jake was _still_ blathering on about how great Bella was; she reached over and slapped her warm hand over his mouth.

"Shut up already." She laughed; he laughed a little under her hand and she removed it.

"Did I mention she was down to earth?" Jake asked her; she rolled her eyes and got serious.

"Look Jacob, she may be all of those things and she's probably a nice girl. _She said doubtfully_… but I care about you Jake, you're my family….." Steph told him as she stabbed a finger into his chest.

"…..And I say, you deserve someone who loves you, and maybe, I'm just throwing ideas around here but maybe, just maybe… Bella isn't that person." She finished carefully; his eyes went softer and he pulled her into a tight hug. She accepted it gladly and even patted his back a few times before pulling away.

"Jaaaakkkeee." She sang as she wiggled her toes in his lap; he looked down at them and raised an eye brow.

"What?" Steph smiled innocently.

"Well, I had to bring Leah home last night all by myself and my feet are killing." She told him as if she had no idea what to do with her problem.

"You want me to rub your feet?" He offered, playing right into her cunning plan; she nodded her head innocently and let him get to work. His hands were hard on her soft aching feet but she didn't stop him or anything.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow; ow." She mumbled; he looked up at her and chuckled.

"You want me to stop?" He asked her; she shook her head frantically.

"No, no, no, no, it hurts so good." She told him as she closed her eyes, tossed her head back and enjoyed the massage; Jacob chuckled again.

"Hey Em." Steph and Jacob called at the same time as Embry came through the door; he looked curiously at the scene before him before snatching a bag of chips from Jake's side, kissing Steph's cheek and settling on the floor next to her. She blushed involuntarily at the attention, he noticed and winked at her; she rolled her eyes in response.

"So where's Leah?" Embry asked her; she nodded her head towards the hallway.

"Still asleep, you know how it is…. What are you doing here anyway?" She asked him; it wasn't in a rude way; it was just that the guys usually hung at Sam's house.

"Was bored, wanted to see you." He told her; Steph and Jake looked to each other and rolled their eyes. This guy was in way too deep for his own good.

"Whatever Romeo." Steph laughed as she ruffled his over growing hair; she froze and her ears pricked up as she heard a faint sniffling sound. Embry and Jake didn't seem to have heard anything.

Steph stood up and made her way down the hallway; following the familiar sound; she knocked lightly on the door at the end of the hall.

"Yeah?" Leah called rudely; Steph exhaled.

"It's me, Lee." She revealed before she heard Leah begin to cry again.

"Can I come in?" She asked softly.

**Thoughts?**

**Yeah well, another chapter. What did you think of it? I'm in the process of writing th next chapter so it should be u next week at the latest. XD**

**Character pics on my page. **

**Check out my other stories. **

**If you like please REVIEW!**


	18. rainbow veins

**A.N. Ok guys and gals, this chapter is dedicated to 'Tiny -Chan' who I doubt even reads this story but hey, whatever. Anyway, thanks to Tiny for introducing me to Owl City beyond the Fireflies extravaganza, Lol. I am now an OWL CITIZEN. XD**

**Anyway, the second half of this chapter is songficified (not in the dictionary) to 'Rainbow veins' by Owl city…. Hence the title…..that is all. **

_Cheer up and dry your damp eyes and tell me when it rains  
And I'll blend up that rainbow above you and shoot it through your veins  
'Cause your heart has a lack of colour and we should've known  
That we'd grow up sooner or later 'Cause we wasted all our free time alone_

**Chapter 18: Rainbow Veins **

"Yeah?" Leah called rudely; Steph exhaled.

"It's me, Lee." She revealed before she heard Leah begin to cry again.

"….Can I come in?" She asked softly.

"Y-yeah." Steph walked in slowly; closing the door behind her.

Leah was a mess; her hair was wild and her face was drawn, she looked so _sad_.

Her long arms clutched tightly onto the blue tear-stained pillows; Steph walked over to her and sat at the end of the bed in silence. There was silence for a while.

"So you're Paul's imprint?" Leah asked; Steph looked up, shocked that she'd even spoken.

"No" She breathed in response; Leah's eyes snapped up.

"Then why are you with him? Do you_ want_ to get hurt?" She asked; her voice rose to an unexpected level of anger; Steph flinched a little at her words. Of course that wasn't what she wanted, what she wanted was Paul and even if it meant she'd only have him for a little while; she'd take the slot. It sounded stupid but no one could understand how 'worth it' he was.

"Paul would never hurt me." She replied surely.

"Yeah, that's what I used to think about Sam." Leah whispered; Steph shook her head and moved forward a little before pulling her short hair up and off her neck.

"You see this?" She asked, pointing to the purple marks.

"Jesus, are those teeth marks?" She asked; Steph nodded.

"Yep, Paul's wolf marked me; it basically means I belong to him." It sounded so primitive but it was true none the less.

"So, instead of imprinting, Paul picked you as his mate?" Leah was trying to understand.

"Yeah, exactly but I mean, I picked him as well." She explained; Leah's face crumbled and she began to cry again. Why couldn't Sam have done that for her? Maybe he didn't love her as much as she had believed; this thought made her even more distraught.

"So Paul won't imprint because he's got you?" Steph felt the need to scream 'hopefully' to the high heavens but she knew better; she _knew_ that her happiness would be short-lived.

"Nobody knows what will happen, Leah; this pack, _our_ pack, we're all just a bunch of firsts." She tried; Leah's crying let up a little but continued still.

"I mean, this is the biggest pack in history, we're the first ever female wolves, my relationship with Paul isn't exactly generic, and Sam is the first wolf to ever hurt his imprint…" Leah growled when she mentioned his name.

"Come on Lee, dry your eyes." She pleaded.

"Sam used to call me that." Leah growled as she clenched her fists and accidently pulled the pillow apart with her fingers.

"Ok, ok well I guess we have to give you another name... how about Lee- lee?" Leah looked up and sniffled, raising an eye brow.

"Ok, definitely not Lee-lee… what about LC?" Steph mentioned; Leah nodded a little and wiped her face with her pillow.

"I like it." Steph smiled and tried to pull her off the bed.

"Come on, let's go do something; I haven't got patrol till later so we've got the whole day to show you the ropes." She offered as Leah didn't move off the bed.

"But where's Paul?" she asked.

"Patrolling." Stephanie shrugged; Leah lay back down and hugged another pillow, discarding the broken one.

"No, I don't wanna leave this room." She whined as she sniffled some more.

"Come on, look the sun's shining for once." Steph stated as she pulled back the curtains; the sun was still there and rain fell from the sky like it was going out of style.

"Ok, so maybe the weather isn't good but no matter; we can find something else to do. Let's go watch TV." She proposed, already pulling her out of the room and into the main room; Jake and Embry looked up with surprised eyes.

Steph made her way over to her previous seat but she cleared one side for Leah who was frozen in the doorway. She threw the boys a dirty look each before turning and heading for the front door; she slammed it behind her and they all cringed.

"What's with her?" Jacob asked; his face a little shocked at the random outburst.

"How would you feel if you were her?" She asked, defensively; Jacob held both of his hands up in surrender.

"Whoa, whoa I was just asking." He replied; she narrowed her eyes and snatched the chips from his lap before tossing four in her mouth at once.

"Where do you think she's gone?" Embry asked; Steph shrugged.

"Well shouldn't you go check? What if she gets into trouble?" He asked her; she rolled her eyes.

"And so what? Leah's a big girl, she doesn't need babysitting; besides, I'm not _my sister's keeper_." She answered; Jake barked out a laugh.

"Your sister?" He asked her, she nodded, she guessed Leah was her sister now, her pack sister.

Steph thought about it more; maybe Embry was right, maybe she should try and find her. What if she did get into trouble? Or worse, she ran into Sam; now_ that_ would be a disaster.

Steph opened her front door thinking she'd probably have to search the whole rez for Leah; luckily, this wasn't the case. The new wolf was sitting on the doorstep with her head in her hands, the roof shielding her from the rain – barely.  
"Why're you sitting out here alone LC?" Steph asked, using the new nickname she had come up with; Leah didn't reply so Steph decided to try a new approach.

"Come on, let's go." She demanded as she began to pull her body from the step.

"Go? Go where?" Leah asked as she tried to sit down again but Steph wouldn't let her.  
"It's not about where we're going; it's about where we're gonna _try_ to go." She replied cryptically, then laughed at Leah's confused expression.  
"I don't get it." Steph rolled her eyes before standing next to her and pointing up at the sky.  
"What's falling?" She asked.  
"Rain?" She smiled at the answer she received.

"Yes, rain….. Now what's over there?" She asked again as she pointed to the yellowy orange sphere in the sky on their left.

"The sun." Leah was more sure of her answer this time.  
"Yes the sun….. And sun plus rain equals?" Leah crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eye brow.  
"A rainbow!" Steph announced as she pushed the younger wolf into the rain and turned her towards the house, just as she had suspected, a colourful arch was precariously balanced in the sky above.

"It's beautiful." Leah mused as she hugged herself; Stephanie nodded in agreement.  
"Yeah, it is." The rain beat down heavily on the two girls but neither of them seemed bothered, they were too busy focusing on the rainbow.  
"You know, I never really looked at a rainbow, not properly anyway; I usually just glance and pass it by." Leah disclosed, sounding quite upset with herself.

"You're not the only one." Steph reassured.  
"…So, are you ready to go?" She finished; LC's eye brows furrowed.

"Go wher….Oh come on, you can't be serious. We are **not **doing that." Steph pouted.  
"Come on, it'll be fun; I promise." She pleaded.  
"It's a fool's quest." By the tone of her voice, I was obvious that she was cracking…. And fast.  
"I beg to differ…. Five bucks says we find it." Steph bet with a giggle on the end, knowing that she'd probably lose.

"You know what? You're on Meyer." Leah laughed as the two of them laughed together; at that moment, Embry and Jake poked their heads out of the door. They both swore that they could hear two girls laughing but they were curious as to whom they were. One of them was Stephanie, that was for sure… but the other? It couldn't have been Leah, Leah Clearwater didn't laugh anymore.

"Er, is everything alright out here?" Jake asked unsurely; Steph rolled her eyes while Leah glared at the two boys.

"Yes, its fine; Leah and I were both leaving….. So bye." She told them as they turned and began walking towards the tree line.

"Well, where are you going?" Embry asked with a worried tone; Steph turned back and placed her hands around her mouth so the sound would travel further when she spoke.  
"To find the end of the rainbow!" The two girls laughed as they walked off into the woods.

"What'swrong?" Steph asked a troubled Leah.  
"I don't know how to do it; I don't know how to _change_." She admitted quietly; she hated saying to things like that.

"It's not hard, just let _her _take over. Don't resist and don't push." Steph muttered as she sucked in the air through her nose and spread her arms out; feeling the wind blow over her body. Leah didn't need to be told who _she _was; it had become apparent since the first time she phased that she was no longer the only guest in hotel Leah.

She tried to do as Steph said; let go and allow the wolf in her to take over, allow her to break free and run wild. Soon enough, she was standing on four legs, looking over at Stephanie who was shaking her head.  
"Yeah, that was great….. Just take off your clothes next time." She laughed; Leah whined as she looked around at the tattered clothing around her.

"… and make sure you're not too close to anyone." Steph finished as she showed her arm which was covered in blood, three long gashes ran from her elbow to her shoulder; she watched as the grey wolf before her bowed her head in apology.

"No biggy, it'll heal in a while…. And as for clothes, I got you covered; I got cubby holes all over this forest." Steph removed her clothes and ted them on her ankle before phasing just in time to hear the beginning of an argument.

_Shut the fuck up Ateara and learn to mind your own damn business_ – Leah

Steph was confused; what the hell had just happened?

_I only asked where you were going? Geeze_ – Quil grumbled; Steph tried to hide a laugh.

_Hey babe_ – Paul

_Hey yourself_ – Steph replied in a flirtatious voice.

She nudged Leah on the muzzle and took off on a run, it wasn't hard for Leah to keep up, in fact they were both running at the same speed. She pouted a little, she had once enjoyed being the fastest in the pack; she barked out a laugh, a least she wasn't the smallest anymore.

_I am not small_ – Leah grumbled.

Steph barked out a laugh again and thought about the task at hand.

_No way, you're gonna find the pock of gold, man that sounds fun_ – Quil.

Trust him to believe there was actually treasure at the end of a rainbow.

_Whatever Quill, just block us out, this is girl time and we don't need to hear your yammering…. You too Paul_ – Steph ordered.

The boys did as they were told and Leah was relieved that she couldn't hear their stupid voices anymore. 

_So they're human now, right? That's why they're gone_ –Leah

_No, not human; they basically just blocked our voices from their heads_ – Steph

_But what if they need help or something?_ – Leah

_**What?**__ Is Leah Clearwater caring for her pack members? _– Steph

_No_ – Leah snapped.

_I was just curious_ – Leah.

Steph wandered why caring was a big deal; she delved a little deeper into her new pack mate's mind and realised that it wasn't like she didn't want to care; it was that she was afraid to. Afraid to get hurt by more people who were supposedly her family.

_If they need help, they howl –_ Steph answered stoically; a little disturbed at what she had found in the deepest parts of Leah's brains.

_I see it _– Leah.

She was trying to hide her excitement but it was pretty obvious; the rainbow was disappearing and reappearing again through the thick tree tops. The two girls changed direction as they picked a side to chase. They laughed as they went, exchanging funny anecdotes to keep the mood light.

_Seriously? And it just crawled right into her clothes?_ – Leah.

_Yeah, I know right, really gross_ - Steph.

All of a sudden Leah froze, she had been so engrossed in rainbow watching and laughing that she had forgotten how far they were allowed to run. The sickly sweet smell was burning her nostrils.

_I think we may have ventured a bit too far_ – Leah

_What? No its cool_ – Steph

_I thought you said we weren't allowed here_ – Leah

_Oh you mean yesterday? I just didn't wanna have to keep running after you_ – Steph bristled.

_Bitch _– Leah muttered.

_Back at ya' LC_ – Steph.

They both ran together for a while, Steph let her large tongue flop out of her mouth as they moved; it felt good to get away for a while. This, right here was the _definition_ of freedom.

_You know I've been thinking; since you call me LC, I should give you a nickname right? –_ Leah

_You don't have to, everybody calls me Steph, I guess that's a nickname –_ Steph

_No, you need a new one that only I call you –_ Leah

_That's cool I guess_ – Steph

_I was thinking maybe Stevie?_ – Leah

_Stevie?... I like it; it makes me sound kinda badass_ – Steph

_Bummer _– Leah grumbled as they stopped at the edge of a cliff; looking out onto the many mountains that the rainbow outstretched onto.

_Not necessarily_ – Steph.

She tried to keep a tight lid on her thoughts.

_What do you mean?_ – Leah

_There's a place around here, I think _– Steph offered cryptically as she turned from the edge of the cliff and trotted around, sniffing trees. She could smell the light scent of pollen, she tried to follow it. Leah stayed right behind her, unsure of what else to do. Eventually she sniffed out the place; Steph laughed and jumped up and down uncontrollably; she even rolled around in the flowers.

She couldn't believe she had found it, of course she knew it was real but she never expected it to be this perfect and….

_It's_ _beautiful_ – Leah mused as she stood before the vast field of the prettiest assorted flowers she had ever seen; even the grass was perfect.

Steph rolled around in laughter; this was it, _the _meadow. This is Bella and Edward's place. She pranced around like a whimsical puppy, jumping up on her hind legs and chasing bumble bees. Leah did the same and she enjoyed herself; she realised that while some part of her was human, she was mostly wolf now. A revelation that she wasn't too disappointed with either. She caught a thought from Steph's head and wondered.

_What's Twilight?_ – Leah

Steph froze; how the hell could she let that one loose. Dear God she was stupid.

_Er, nothing; just these books I wrote_ – Steph

_You write books?_ - Leah asked as her large body collapsed in the grass like a log, she was officially tired; she realised that she could no longer hear any of Steph's thoughts apart from what she was being fed. What was she hiding?

_Oh ok_ – Leah replied before screaming.

_Twilight! Twilight! Twilight!-_ Leah.

Without warning, thoughts came spilling out into the open, all jumbled and confusing but as soon as they came, they were gone.

_What was that?_ – Leah

_Nothing, ok_ – Steph snapped; she was afraid, Leah's random explosion had slipped the lid on her secrets and she wasn't sure which ones the younger wolf had actually heard.

_But I saw…... Wait, what as that? –_ Leah. The girls stood together and growled threateningly as the sound of footprints made their way towards them. Steph deflated as the smell hit her nose.

_Relax Leah, it's just a Cullen_ – She breathed, she was a little relieved; she really wasn't looking forward to a brawl of any kind right now.

_Aren't they the enemy?_ – Leah asked as she kept growling; Steph stepped in front of her to block her view of the incoming vampires. She knew that the wolf inside Leah was young; she wouldn't know the difference between friends and enemies right now if they smelled like leaches.

_NO, no they're not so lie down_ – Steph

_I'm not your freaking dog, don't tell me to lie down –_ Leah

_I'm serious Leah, the wolf inside you is gonna wanna attack and we can't have that so lie the fuck down_ – Steph growled.

Leah did what she was told, begrudgingly.

_Now roll over onto your back_ – Steph

_Good_ – Steph.

She stepped over Leah's body so that her front legs were parallel to her snout; this way she couldn't get up without Steph's permission.

_I feel like a fucking puppy_ – Leah grumbled.

_You kind of are so hush… they're here –_ Steph looked up as Emmett and Jasper appeared in the clearing; both of their heads were cocked to the side, surprised to see them.

They approached slowly with their hands up and stood twenty feet away from them when she growled for the not to get any closer.

_Urgh, they stink_ – Leah bristled as she used both her paws to cover her sensitive nose.

_Yeah, they do_ – Steph snorted.

"You're a little far from home." Emmett boomed as he stepped forward, Steph nodded but growled a little. Jasper didn't take his eyes off of them as he held his brother back by the arm.  
"Don't get any closer, the little one is new; she won't be able to control herself." He spoke with a southern drawl that would make any woman shiver.

_Fuck off! I'm not little_ – Leah growled as she tried to flip over onto her belly so she could run and pounce on these stinking fuckers. Steph growled back and held her down with a paw to her chest; Leah was still struggling.

_Whoa, whoa, whoa there Sally, slow your mustang –_ Steph barked out a laugh.

"What the hell is happening?" Emmett asked through his laughter as he watched the scene unfold before him; the whole thing was like nothing he had ever seen before.

"The chocolate brown, it isn't like the others; it's not angry or afraid." Jasper mused.

"….But the little one." He was cut off by another growl from Leah. "Sorry, the grey one, its emotions are all over the place; calm down, buddy." He drawled.

_What the fuck is he doing to me-_ Leah slurred drowsily; she stopped struggling and just sighed contently.

_Why am I so calm?_ – Leah

_He's making you that way_– Steph

She looked up at Jasper and yelped; he nodded his head like a gentleman.  
"You're welcome." He answered; Emmett watched the exchange with no idea what to do.

Steph yelped and growled a little, hoping that they'd get her message.  
"I think he wants us to go." Jasper said as they started to back away; Steph rolled her eyes.

_I'm not a boy!_ – Steph

"Well see you later, chocolate flavour." Emmett laughed as if it was the best joke ever heard as he turned and ran; Jasper mentally face-palmed as he followed. A few seconds later, Steph removed her paw from Leah's body and she stood up, shaking out her fur a little.

_So that was your first encounter with leeches _– Steph mused as they began to run back towards La Push.

_I didn't like em'_ – Leah

_Of course you didn't LC_ – Steph laughed; Leah joined in too….

But all traces of boisterous merriment ceased as the girls approached the treaty line; the whole pack stood there growling murderously. Uh oh, Steph knew that they were both in serious trouble.

_Where the _**hell **_have you been all day?_ – Sam

**Thoughts?**

**Dun dun duuuunn, they're in trouble; other than that, is anyone else wandering how much Leah saw in Steph's mind? I know I am ^0^****  
Ok, this are picking up now…**

**Anyway, tell me what you think. **

**Character pics on my page. **

**Check out my other stories. **

**Please take a minute and REVIEW! It means so much to me **


	19. communal candy

**A.N. Hey guys, here's the next chapter. I got really nice responses for the last chapter so thank-you. XD**

_Where the _**hell **_have you been all day?_ – Sam

They both jumped as his booming voice entered their heads.

Leah began to growl softly but the whole pack silenced her with a glare; well, the whole pack except Embry and Paul who both hadn't taken their eyes off of Stephanie.

_We just went for a run_ – Steph justified as she stepped forward.

_What? And there isn't enough land for your paws in La Push?_ – Sam

Steph shifted her weight onto her other foot; she hated being scolded like child in front of the whole pack.

_They were chasing the rainbow_ – Quil's thoughts chimed in; both Leah and Steph gave him the 'shut up or die' glare and he whimpered, knowing that he couldn't take another beating; he was already limping due to the chunk Paul had taken out of his leg this morning.

_Chasing the rainbow, huh? Well isn't that nice? Tell me Stephanie, where exactly did this rainbow take you?_ – Sam

Steph cringed at his mocking tone.

_Well?_ – Sam

_We were on Cullen territory_ – Steph gave up; he already knew but he wanted her to say it out loud. _Asshole. _

Paul sniggered at her thoughts; that was his girl.

_Exactly, what were you thinking, taking Leah out there? Do you know how dangerous it is? What if they attacked you? Dammit, just think next time_! – Sam.

Paul growled a little, he didn't like Sam's condescending tone; Steph just rolled her eyes. His words just went right over her head… but apparently, their last stop was Leah's ears.

_What the fuck do you mean? Are you saying I can't protect myself? _– Leah growled.

Sam exhaled with the kind of patience he only had for one Leah Clearwater.

_No, that's not what I meant, but you're young Lee; she shouldn't have taken you so far away from home_ – Sam tried to explain in a soft voice.

_Last time I checked, I was running right there beside her….. And don't ever call me Lee again –_ Leah

_Lee I…._ – Sam started, it was a force of habit; she cut him off.

_What the fuck did I_ just_ say? Don't. Call. Me. Lee. You lost that right a long time ago_ – Leah

The rest of the pack sniggered a little, if it was anyone else, they would have had their asses handed to them by now but _no_ Mr Alpha dog had a soft spot for a certain Clearwater. Sam exhaled and shook his head lightly.

_You know what? Let's all just go home; Emily cooked dinner _– Sam.

He realised his mistake as soon as he said it; he looked to Leah with pleading eyes but she looked like she was about to explode…. Again. Steph didn't notice, she was too busy thinking. _Yes, off the hook!_

_No fucking way am I going to eat anything __**she **__cooks, I'd rather go back and hang out with those leeches_ – Leah growled.

The whole pack did the same as soon as the thoughts left her head. Paul stepped forward and circled Steph, sniffing her as he did so; making sure that no leech had touched his mate.

_Great _– Steph muttered.

_What the hell do you mean 'back'; you saw vampires and you neglected to say so! What the hell?_– Sam

He really didn't know what kind of pack he was running these days. Steph resisted the need to reply with a swift 'so'; she decided that this wasn't the time for jokes.

_Relax, nothing happened –_ Steph tried but she was cut off by a growl; this time it was Paul. He didn't like her putting herself in danger and then just brushing it off like it was _nothing_.

**Show me everything! **– Sam.

Steph whimpered under the weight of the order as her memories began to spill out.

_God! I would've just showed you, you didn't have to go all alpha on me – _she grumbled as she shook her head that was now throbbing painfully; she moved into Paul's side and rested her head on his soft fur.

_Well you were lucky this time; what if they decided to attack you, huh? What then_? – Sam

Steph knew that his question was rhetorical so she didn't even bother trying to answer.

_You've both got double patrol for a week_ – Sam

Stephanie whined, Leah didn't since she didn't fully know what it was.

_Oh come on, that's harsh; I cover half of these bozos' patrols already –_ Steph whined as she nodded towards the pack, especially Jared; he always needed the extra time to spend with Kim. Heck, at least he paid her for doing his job.

_No excuses, it starts tonight after dinner_ – Sam told them in a no-nonsense voice; Steph dropped her head and her ears went flat to her head. Paul licked her face lovingly and she giggled and leaned into him even more.

They all phased back and began to make their way towards Emily's house; Leah on the other hand stood stubbornly on the treaty line with her arms crossed. Steph took Paul's hand and lead him over to her.  
"Are you sure you don't wanna come LC, because_ I'm_ going; I'm too hungry to hang around." Steph asked; Leah shook her head and looked disgusted.

"I'm not going over there so she can try and buy my forgiveness with her blood muffins." She retorted; Paul barked out a laugh.

"_Blood muffins_?" He asked incredulously; Leah narrowed her eyes. 

"That's what I said!" She spat; Steph rolled her eyes and put her hand to her forehead.

"Whatever, the house key is in the flower bed, you should be able to sniff it out. We need to go, I'm starving." She told her; Leah nodded appreciatively and walked off into the forest leaving Paul and Steph alone. He leaned down and kissed her head as they walked in the other direction towards Sam and Emily's place; he had an arm slung around her shoulder so she was tucked almost under him.

"Urgh, my brain feels like it's giggling around in my head." Steph groaned; Paul leaned down and picked her up, carrying her bridal style. They approached the cottage fairly soon.  
"Don't worry babe, when we get inside, I'll take care of you." He told her as he leaned down and pecked her lips; she played with the hair on the back of his neck.

"No, that won't be necessary, I've got some candy over at Emily's; it'll cure me." She replied, her mouth was watering, already thinking about her delicious stash she'd been building up for a while. Just waiting for a moment like this. As she said those words, the cottage went quiet… but they hadn't noticed.

"You're gonna use candy to cure a head ache?" He asked her she nodded her head and lowered herself down to the floor as they entered. It was really quiet in the kitchen which was odd; it was usually rowdy and loud, now she could have heard a pin drop.

"Hey Steph, Paul." Emily greeted as she placed a plate of meatloaf, potatoes and veggies double the size of everyone else's in front of the couple; they always ate together… except when it came to candy, that was where selfish Steph came to life.

"Why's everyone so quiet?" She asked; they all let out little grunts and Sam chuckled. She looked up at him for an explanation but he held both of his hands up and laughed,

"I'm not even getting involved." He answered cryptically; Steph looked around the table as she ate, they were all looking at each other but none of them were looking at her.

"So, whose turn is it to pick the movie tonight?" Jared asked out of nowhere; soon they all started to agree with him muttering 'yeah, the movie, the movie yeah'.

There was definitely something fishy going on.  
"Ok seriously guys, what's with you? Jared, why did you even ask about the movie; you know you're going over to Kim's as soon as you finish eating." She accused; they all swallowed and began to pick imaginary food from their now empty plates.

"By the way, it's Paul's turn to pick the movie." She finished as she stood from his lap and took the plate to the sink.  
"It is? Sweet!" Paul said as he got out of his seat and went to the living room to pick out the DVD; Steph ignored her mute pack mates and walked over to her sacred candy cupboard, looking back to make sure that nobody was watching.

"Wait, Steph…" Embry started but they all silenced him with a glare.  
"Ok well, I'm off to Kim's. Thanks Emily." Jared spluttered as he washed his plate up, kissed Emily's cheek and left. The rest of them were staring at Steph's hand which was placed on the cupboard. She practically yanked the door open and out came rappers of all shapes and sizes, tumbling onto the counter weightlessly. No, no, no, this could not be happening; she rummaged through the whole thing, there were only wrappers; her face went pale. That was over _eighty dollars_ worth of candy. _Gone._ Not to mention the fact that she was looking forward to it.

She turned back to her pack mates who looked pretty scared and narrowed her eyes.  
"Which one of you was it? Huh?" She asked as she dumped each and every one of the wrappers in the middle of the table; she examined them and growled quietly. Each and every one was intricately wrapped back so that the only clue that there was nothing inside was the weight, they all looked visually perfect.

Steph walked around the table lowly; string down each and every one of them.  
"So what? Nobody has_ anything _to say now? I said, who ate my candy and decided to wrap them back up? I'm guessing someone with nimble fingers." She deduced, but then again they were all werewolves therefore they _all _had nimble fingers; no one spoke.  
"Was it you Jacob?" She asked pointedly; he jumped up like a gunshot had gone off.

"What? Well you see it was…. And then… so i…. I mean we….." She held her hand up; that was all she needed from him.  
"What about you Quil? What's your explanation?" She asked as she laid a firm hand on his shoulder; he looked down at it and swallowed thickly.  
"Erm well…. What Jake said." He answered smartly; Steph nodded and looked over at the only wolf left at the table, Embry Call.

"Embry?" She asked; he looked back at her with a glassy expression; like the lights were on but nobody was home.  
"Can you repeat the question?" He asked; she narrowed her eyes and sat down in her seat. She was too tired to beat anyone's ass right now.

"Or maybe it was all of you." She guessed; the way they all looked at each other told her that she was right.  
"Ok, good." She answered; leaning back in her chair with a puppy dog pout.  
"I spent so much money on all that candy and I would have shared it with you anyway." She lied, tugging on their heart strings.

"I can't believe you'd steal from me like that."

Steph lowered her head and then peaked at the boys; they all looked like they were about to cry.  
"We're really sorry Steph; we didn't know it was yours until after we ate it all." Embry told her; she sighed dramatically.  
"He's right Steph, I swear, we all thought it was communal candy." Jacob justified; Steph flipped her head to the other side and sighed again, pouting some more.  
"Aww Steph, don't do that; look, we'll do anything to make it up to you." Quil reassured; she popped open an eye.

"Anything?" They all nodded eagerly; she smiled brightly and put her head up.  
"Good, then you won't mind covering my double patrol punishment between you, you know what? You're covering _all _my patrols." She told, not asked them; they all audibly groaned, finally realising that they had been conned.

"Not cool Steph." Jacob growled quietly; she smirked over at him.

"Really? Because I think it's _pretty darn cool _actually. What's _not_ cool is the plethora of candy wrappers I now own." She replied; they all groaned again.  
"Aww can't resist the puppy face." She mocked as she did it again, just as Paul walked in; he saw it and almost ran away again. He had fallen victim to that face many times.

"We're watching 'club dread'; I could do with some comedy." He grunted as he threw it on the table.  
"That sounds great, Paul; I think we could all do with some comedy." Emily agreed as she cuddled into Sam's side; Steph felt the need to gag, the film was the worst.  
"Could we please choose another one?" She asked as she gave him the puppy face; he looked guilty for a second but then his face returned to normal. Darn it, she had used it too many times; he was becoming immune.

"Stop pouting and eat your candy." He laughed as he spoke; she straightened in her seat automatically and looked over at the culprits at the table, staring all three of them down.

"Oh there's no candy, just these colourful shells filled with empty promises." She told him angrily as she lifted the wrappers into the air and let them drop like snowflakes; Paul put two and two together and looked over Quil, Embry and Jacob.

"You fuckers better buy all of those back!" Paul growled; Emily shook her head. Honestly, the language that came out of his mouth sometimes was amazing.

"Please, language." She pleaded; he sent her a apologetic glance before finishing his threat.

"Every single freakin' one."

**Thoughts? **

**Yeah, I know there wasn't much but I had been dying to get the candy scene in there since it actually happened to me; yes, I was the Steph. Poor me. **

**Character pics on my page. **

**Check out my other stories **

**If you like, please review.**


	20. Leah knows

**A.N. Hey guys, I hope you like this chapter. I'm right in the middle of trying to wrap this story up soon so I hope you're enjoying it****.**

Steph rolled her eyes as she had a shower, got dressed in the usual dress and walked through to the living room; surprise, surprise, the pack minus Sam and Jared were littered around her living room. Jacob and Quil were in front of the large flat screen TV playing on the PS3, Leah was in the corner on the one-seater recliner that she had deemed her place, Seth was on the floor at her feet, watching the guys play, Embry had his feet stretched out over the whole main couch, sitting as far away from Paul, who was in his favourite seat, as possible.

Steph stiffened as she smelled something unusual, something human, she sniffed subconsciously and followed the smell, all the way to her kitchen.  
"Mom." She gasped as she literally jumped on Rowana; she snuggled close to her daughter and held on tight.  
"I miss you mom." Steph whispered, as she always did; Rowana exhaled.  
"I miss you too, we both do." She replied; Steph pulled away and cleared her throat. She knew that this stupid feud between her and her dad was childish but she wasn't gonna be the first one to back down. No way.

"Yeah well, he knows where to find me." She grunted, crossing her hands over her chest; Rowana shook her head and turned away from her as she unloaded the bag she had brought with her.  
"Anyway, I brought you some food; all your favourites." She sang as she laid the containers out on the table; Steph's eyes widened, there were almost twenty. She glanced up at her mom who looked like her mind was travelling back to easier times. Steph finally understood, her mom missed her way too much for her own good.

"Thanks mom, you're amazing. Are you staying for the day?" She asked, ignoring the loud chatter coming from the living room.  
"No, I have some errands to run but you can come to dinner if you want?" Rowana asked hopefully; Steph thought about it.  
"Oh I dunno mom…." Steph started, she knew her mom was setting her up.  
"Great, I'll see you at seven." Rowana laughed as she scurried quickly from the kitchen.  
"Bye boys… and girl." She told the pack as she left the house; her words were followed by a chorus of 'bye Mrs Meyer'.

Steph exhaled and gritted her teeth as she leaned against the kitchen counter; Jacob and Quil came bounding in with eager, hungry smiles on their faces. Both of them reached for the bowls of food but Steph batted their hands away; they looked up at her like injured puppies.  
"First things first, where's my candy?" She asked them; she thought two weeks was enough time to get their chizz together.  
"Jacob?" She asked him as she held her hand out; he dug into his back pocket with a sheepish grin and pulled out two candy bars.  
"Well it's a start." Steph muttered as she looked at them; she didn't recognise the packaging or name.

"Where did you get this, Jake?" She asked as she flipped it, it didn't have any return address or nutritional information.  
"They were in the back of my dad's cupboard." He admitted; Steph and Quil both made a face.  
"Dude?" Quil asked incredulously as he began to laugh; Steph shook her head and flipped it again, trying to look for an expiration date. Her eyes widened when she saw it. December third… **1992!**  
"Oh my god, take it away." She laughed at him; she couldn't believe Billy even owned them.  
"Why? What's wrong with them?" He whined; she felt like the air was being punched out of her lungs and she laughed again.

"What do you mean what's wrong? The candy's older than the fresh prince of Bel Air." She told him; she turned to Quil.  
"What about you?" She asked; he looked really guilty.  
"I forgot the bag at home?" He answered like it was a question; she rolled her eyes and put the bowls of food her mom had brought, away.  
"You two are so unreliable. Urgh, men, can't live with them…." She muttered; she turned around to find Quil and Jacob staring at her expectantly.

"What? That's it." She shrugged as she walked through to the living room and settled on Paul's lap.  
"You okay?" He asked as he brushed his thumb over her cheek; she nodded into his hand and exhaled.  
"I have to go to dinner at home, today." She told him; he sighed and hiked her further on his lap.  
"I know…. You want me to come?" He breathed; Steph shook her head.  
"Nah, I think it's best if I go alone." She told him; he nodded and leaned in to kiss her, she moaned lightly into his mouth and deepened it. Paul's hands began to roam her body when someone cleared their throat; they both broke away begrudgingly and looked for the culprit.

"So Steph, what did you think about the cd I gave you?" Embry asked her; Paul growled and Steph raised an eye brow. He just had to ask that this second, didn't he? She bit her lip and she tried to answer it truthfully without being too harsh, the truth was she took one look at the case and knew she wouldn't like it. It was heavy metal, it all sounded like noise to her.

"Ooh, well I was gonna but then I just, you know, kept living my life." She told him lamely; Paul barked out a laugh and Embry glared at him.  
"Sorry Em." She shrugged; he nodded and looked back to the television. Paul flashed him a smug smirk.

Leah left the room but not before sharing a look with Stephanie who followed a few minutes later.

"I know." Leah stated as soon as she was certain that the boys couldn't hear them; Steph's eye brows furrowed.  
"Know what?" She asked carefully; Leah crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes.

"I know all about Twilight Stephanie."

**Thoughts? **

**I know it was short and looooongggg overdue but we've only got another couple of chapters to go so bear with me, guys ****. **

**Character pics on my page. **

**Check out my other stories **

**If you like, please review.**


	21. how about them apples

"When did you find out?" Steph asked Leah; the older girl gave her a small smile.  
"You remember when I first phased?" Steph nodded, though it had been around three months ago now.  
"….And we went on that run where we saw those _Cullens_." She spat the coven's name as if it was a curse. The realisation hit Steph.  
"Why haven't you said anything?" Leah shrugged.  
"I was waiting for you to come clean but I guess that isn't happening anytime soon." Steph smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her head.

"I can see why you wouldn't though, it must be fun, knowing what'll happen to everyone." Steph raised an eyebrow.  
"Leah, I'm pretty sure you know everything I do." Leah shook her head.  
"Nope, you closed up shop before I could find out too much; the only things I knew have happened already." She gave Steph a wishful glance. The other girl just blinked in response. "_So…_ what happens to me?" Leah asked as she fidgeted in anticipation.  
"I'll tell you about everyone else _except_ you." Steph bargained.  
"_What? _Why?"

"I dunno, who knows? It might tare a whole in that all space, time continuum or something." Leah blinked twice.  
"What are you talking about?" Steph shrugged again. They both sat in silence for a while.  
"I'm still not gonna tell you." Leah's face dropped.  
"Oh come on, you've gotta give me the scoop before you tell the guys." She pleaded with a smirk that was slightly off; Steph coughed awkwardly.  
"LC, I wasn't planning on telling anybody_ anything_." Leah laughed and shook her head.

"Whatever, but sooner or later, it's gonna hit the fan…. And believe me…that shit won't distribute easily." Steph opened her mouth to speak when suddenly they both heard the front door slam.  
The girls looked at each other before leaving the room with crouched knees and alert eyes; it could have been trouble.  
But it wasn't. It was just Jake.  
"What the fuck, Black? Are you tryin' to break my fucking door off?" Paul sounded pissed, his body began to shake violently; Steph moved to his side and rubbed her hand over his muscled back.

"It's okay, Paul. Relax." She soothed before turning to Jake with a scowl.  
"You! What the hell?" Jacob's fists balled up.  
"Sorry." He apologized halfheartedly before stalking into the kitchen.  
"What's his problem?" Leah asked with a sneer; Quil gave her a look.  
"Let it go, Leah. It's family stuff." He revealed; Steph looked over at the kitchen door, contemplating whether to try to talk to the baby Alpha or not.

-333-

"Steph, that's my seat." Quil whined like a child; _geeze, no wonder he's gonna imprint on Claire._ Steph sniggered in her head while eating another handful of toffee popcorn.  
"Quil, go sit somewhere else." She answered lazily  
"No. Move…. Jesus Steph, you need to lay off the fries." Quil joked as he tried and failed to pull Steph off of the couch. She tried to reply but it came out as muffled gibberish. And then she choked. Embry leaps to her side and patted her back for her.

"Fail." Quil laughed; Steph had finally stopped choking.  
"So was your dad's condom" she retorted; the statement was followed by a chorus of 'woos' from the guys. Quil's eyes narrowed and Steph laughed again, if only Paul had been here to hear that, she always missed him when he had to patrol.

Her laughter faded as she looked towards the kitchen door, Jake was still in there alone. Steph went to see if he was okay.  
"Jake, what's wrong?" She asked when she found him; he was pacing the kitchen like a caged animal.  
"Nothing." He growled; Steph raised an eyebrow.  
"Nothing, huh?" She asked as she sat up on the counter.

"Quil said it was family problems." Steph told him as she took a bite of an apple from the fruit basket beside her. Jake kept quiet but never stopped pacing.  
"Is it Billy? What, did he say you're not allowed to stalk Bella anymore or something?" Jake turned to her and growled; she held both her hands up.  
"Okay, sorry. It was a bad joke, I know." She admitted. They were both in silence for a while.  
"Come on Jake, just spill." She pleaded.  
"Fine." Jake grumbled; Steph took another bite of her apple.

"I hate it when people come home and think they're better than you; who the hell cares if you went to college? It isn't my fucking fault that I can't leave, is it?" The next bite that Steph took was a little smaller; she couldn't help but feel sorry for the guys. Fair enough, she was happy with her life, she had Paul; she never really had any real goals so becoming a wolf wasn't something that particularly bothered her. But for the others, Jacob, Embry; they all had to give up so many things.

"Fucking Rachel, her grades aren't even that…." Steph couldn't hear the rest; her apple fell to the floor and rolled to Jake's feet. He frowned down at it but looked up just in time to see Steph tumble onto the floor after it.

**Thoughts? **

**I hoped you liked this one guys, it's looking like the next chapter is gonna be the last. Thank you for sticking with me even though I have been terribly inconsistent.**

Oh and btw, I have literally just uploaded a new story. Please check it out.  
It's already finished so there wont be any gaps in uploads like there were in this one. 

**Character pics on my page. **

**Check out my other stories **

**If you like, please review.**


	22. Inevitable

Steph slammed the bathroom door behind her and sank onto the floor; this couldn't be happening to her. Not now. Not after all this time.

She bit back the sob and tried to get herself together; why was she crying? Because she couldn't do it. She couldn't do what she'd promised herself all those months ago. _To let him go. _

Her wolf growled inside. **Mine**

_No. _

She couldn't do that, she loved him; he was meant for her. He needed her and she needed him. She wouldn't just hand him over to Rachel fucking Black on a silver platter. Like that would ever happen. Before Steph could stop herself, she felt her body vibrating with a murderous rhythm and hatred radiated from her brown skin. She stood with her fists balled and climbed out of the bathroom window quietly. This would be easy, most of the pack was still in her living room, and they thought she had just gone to the bathroom; they would never know where she had gone. She could be back before they even suspected a thing.

Luring Rachel out of the Blacks' home would be easy; taking care of her would be even easier. She could do this. _But what about Rachel? What if she screams?_ Easy, she would use the element of surprise. The human college princess would never see it coming. Steph sniggered as she walked briskly into the forest; she couldn't phase and risk Paul and Quil seeing her evil plan. Her eye twitched as she sped up; she couldn't wait to get this done. Then maybe she could finally rest; finally stop fretting about when Paul was gonna get up one day, imprint and unintentionally break her heart.

She could have peace.

Steph smiled as Jacob's small cottage came into view; this would be fun. She walked silently into the home; the door wasn't locked as usual. Steph put one foot in front of the other. _Creeping_. As the first room of the house came into view she stopped; there was no one inside but she could hear a definite heart beat coming from the twins' old room and judging by the unrecognizable floral scent that the human was carrying, it wasn't Billy.

She smiled and turned the doorknob; the door opened slowly. Her hand fell limply to her side as she stared at the woman lying asleep in one of the single beds. Her head cocked to the side as she moved a little closer and crouched down so that they were eye level to each other. The young woman looked so peaceful in her sleep; she must have been tired from her flight.  
_She looks a lot like Jake_. Steph noted as she continued to stare; after about half an hour, Steph exhaled as the last drop of anger in her body trickled away to sadness. Who was she kidding? She couldn't murder a human. She would never do something like that.

_So why are you here? _

Her wolf growled at her; it wanted Steph to illuminate the threat to their relationship with Paul so that they could go and see him at home.  
"**We aren't murderers.**" Steph growled back; Rachel stirred in her sleep. Steph backed out of the house with her head hanging low in shame, it was like her whole world was tumbling down around her and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Nothing she could do to slow it down. It was inevitable.

-333-

Steph laughed as she took another swig of vodka; how cliqued was this?  
"My boyfriend left me so I'll drink myself to oblivion…." She told no one.  
"Ok, so he hasn't left me yet but he will." This time she said it to the rock in the sand beside her; Steph closed her eyes and swallowed the rest of the first bottle in one gulp. It was disgusted but it fulfilled its purpose. She was hammered. Done. _Drunk_. Steph laughed at nothing.

This was better; she _felt_ better. It didn't hurt so much. Her _heart_ didn't hurt so much. Despite being almost incoherent, she proceeded to open the second bottle of vodka and took another swig.  
"Steph?" Her head snapped up slowly when her name was called; oh, it was him.  
"What the hell is this? Is that vodka? What the fuck?" He asked her as he ripped the almost full bottle from her hand. She frowned and pouted as he tossed it into the sea a few feet away from her.  
"You've been gone for hours Steph and _this _is what you've been doing?" She watched as he began to shake lightly and laughed. Embry growled at her but calmed himself down and kneeled at her side.

"Come on, let's get you home." He grumbled as he moved to pick her up; she screamed and moved away from him clumsily.  
"Just leave me alone. I don't wanna go home." She cried; why did he have to come and ruin her mood? She was fine a minute ago.  
Embry exhaled dejectedly and sat down next to her; she curled up next to him like a scared child.  
"What's going on Steph? Talk to me." He pleaded. She looked up at his eyes and then looked away.  
"Steph." Embry pleaded; she looked up at him again with leaking eyes.

"Talk to me. Tell me what's wrong." She leant up and kissed him unexpectedly; their mouths moved together for around ten seconds before Embry pulled away from her. She was hurt.  
"Steph. No." He sounded like he really didn't want to say it; Steph pulled him closer and tried again but he turned away.  
"I said no, Steph. Not like this." He told her firmly; Steph instantly deflated. Who'd have known that the day that Embry would reject her would ever come? Figures, she wasn't even good enough for Embry anymore; he probably didn't want Paul's sloppy seconds.

Maybe nobody would.

Maybe she'd die alone. Bitter. Angry. Lonely.

Who was she trying to kid, anyway? She didn't want Embry. She wanted her Paul. She wasn't even sure why she kissed this guy; her head was all over the place.

"Come on, let's get you home." Embry told her again; this time, he pulled her up and over his shoulder like a bag of spuds before she could object. After only a minute of being carried, Steph started to drift to sleep. 

**Thoughts? **

**I know I said that this was gonna be the last chapter but It's the penultimate one instead. Ok, next one really is the last one.  
Oh and btw, I uploaded a new story. Please check it out.  
It's already finished so there won't be any gaps in uploads like there were in this one. **

**Character pics on my page. **

**Check out my other stories **

**If you like, please review.**


	23. epilogue

**Ok guys, this is the last ever chapter! Yay! **

"How long are you gonna pretend to be sleeping?" Steph's eyes squeezed shut at his words; she wasn't ready to hear them yet. She wasn't ready to see him because she knew. _She knew_ that he'd seen Rachel at some point while she'd been sleeping off her horrible hangover and moping in bed. Paul had imprinted for sure and there was nothing she could do about it.

Steph blinked back the tears.  
"Stephanie?" Paul's voice was a little softer this time; she refused to move or speak.  
"You could at least look at me." He growled at her; she flinched and turned to him anyway. He was beautiful and it hurt her heart.  
"So are you gonna tell me what's going on or do you plan on staying in bed for the rest of your life?" She looked up at him, shocked. Was he serious right now? Oh right, he didn't think that she knew about the imprint.

"Leah's telling everyone you're sick but I know better than that." _Thank-you Leah._ Steph thought silently.

"Steph?" She didn't answer him. She didn't even look at him.

"You know what? I thought we were stronger than this. Since when do we keep secrets from each other?" He asked her; she could hear the hurt in his voice. She stared at his face as he waited for her to answer. She wondered what he'd say if he knew that she had been keeping a huge secret from him this whole time.

"I mean, what happened to you? One minute you were fine and the next you're drinking? Kissing Embry?" Stephanie's eyes widened; he knew about that? Her lip quivered and she looked down in shame.

"Paul…" Her voice was almost raw sounding; she hadn't spoken in a few days. "I'm…."  
"Sorry?" He spat at her; Steph flinched then nodded.  
"I am. I'm sorry. It never should have happened." She croaked; Paul laughed sourly.  
"No, it shouldn't have."

Steph sat up in bed and watched as he paced the room.  
"Paul, I'm sorry. I was drunk and emotional and Embry was there. It didn't mean anything." She told him with a shaky voice as she stood, moving a little closer to him. He stopped pacing and turned to her, his eyes were still hard.  
"He was there, huh? Wow Steph, I didn't know you were _that _desperate; you couldn't even wait for me to get home." Her eyes squeezed shut and she looked down at the ground; tears fell onto the wood laminate between her feet.

"P-paul please. I didn't mean it. I thought you were gonna leave me…." She stuttered and sniffled as she spoke; before she could say anything more, Paul sat down on the bed and pulled her into his lap.  
"How many times do I have to tell you? We were _made_ for each other. You're. **Mine**. The sooner you get that through your thick skull the better." Steph looked up to him hopefully; his eyes were sincere.

"Really?" She squeaked; he rolled his eyes before pushing his lips onto hers. Steph flopped weakly into his arms and their mouths moved together. Paul pulled away first but not before placing another lingering kiss on her lips.  
"Really." He replied; their foreheads pressed together.

"But what about Rachel?" She asked as she looked down into her lap; she couldn't see his face when he told her the truth.  
"Rachel who?... Rachel Black? What about her?" Paul was bewildered; why did Steph even mention her? She looked up and searched his eyes for something; a trace of a lie maybe? But there was none.  
"You didn't imprint on Rachel?"  
"What? What are you talking about? Of course I didn't imprint on her." What did this mean? Had Steph's book been wrong? No, it could be, right? Perhaps he hadn't seen her yet?

"Well, have you seen her yet?"  
"Yes, she came to a bonfire last night and I'm pretty sure I looked her in the eyes and didn't imprint. How could I anyway? I have you." Steph's mouth spread into a smile she couldn't control and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. So she had worried about this for nothing? This whole time? Really?

"Wait, then why was she at a pack bonfire?" What was this? A hole in his perfect web of lies, maybe?  
"We told her the secret. Embry imprinted on her." Steph's hands flew to the 'P' around her neck.  
"Really?" Paul shrugged. Her mouth spread into a wide smile and she practically pounced on him; he looked up at her shocked as she straddled him. Steph leaned down and attached her lips to his; his hands moved to her hips and ground her body into his. She moaned into his mouth and reached down to undo his cut off's button.

Paul growled and flipped them over so he was on top; he couldn't stay submissive to her wolf for long. All of a sudden he froze and looked thoughtful.  
"What?" Steph asked; wondering why he stopped.  
"Why did you think that I'd imprint on Rachel anyway?" She smiled and leant up to kiss his lips before replying,  
"…Ah, but that's another story."

The End

**Thoughts?  
We've got to the end guys. Thanks for sticking with me this whole time. I love you guys!  
Please check out some of my other stuff, maybe my newest imprinting tale 'Untouchable'  
Add me to your author alerts (0r don't)  
Review for one last time please  
And no flames.  
**


End file.
